Former Vice President Mike Pence Urges Trump to Rethink Nvidia Deal & Intel Stake

Former Vice President Mike Pence expressed concerns about the US government taking an equity stake in Intel Corp. and a cut of Nvidia Corp.’s AI chip sales to China.

“This was not a strategy that we employed during the Trump-Pence years,” Pence said during an interview Thursday on Bloomberg Television’s Balance of Power. “I have great concerns about having the US government take a position in, with gold shares in Nippon Steel or just the latest discussions about taking a percent of Intel.”

President Donald Trump in his second term has embraced the government ramping up its involvement with companies in a bid to bring more manufacturing jobs to the US, protect critical industries and rebalance trade flows.

Former Vice President Mike Pence shares his thoughts on President Trump calling for Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to resign hoping these allegations are not part of a pressure campaign. Pence also talks about the US Senate needing to pass secondary sanctions on Russia, the continuing efforts by select states to create new redistricting maps, and whether or not he supports the President having the National Guard in Washington, D.C. Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks with Tyler Kendall and Michael Shephard on the late edition of Bloomberg's "Balance of Power."

The president earlier this year announced that the US would secure a “Golden Share” from Nippon Steel Corp., a Japanese steelmaker, as part of its purchase of United States Steel Corp., an arrangement giving the government a potential say in corporate decisions. While such moves are common in other countries, they’re not in the US.

Trump in early August also announced that Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. agreed to give the US government 15% of revenue generated from sales of artificial intelligence chips to China. The administration is also in talks with Intel for a stake in the chipmaker, which Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick cast as a plan that could convert Chips and Science Act grants into equity, though he said that framework would not give the US governance or voting rights in the company.

Pence called the arrangement with Nvidia “even more problematic” and said there were already “export controls in place to protect our national security.”

“Simply taking 15% of those sales doesn’t serve our national interests or our national security,” he said.

“I think we need to take a step back on all of this. I’d encourage the administration, and if I was speaking to the president, I’d encourage him it’s time for us to think twice,” Pence added.

“State-owned enterprise is not the American way. Free enterprise is the American way,” he added. “A refereed, private sector with less taxes and less regulation has created the most prosperous economy in the history of the world. And if we stay on that path, that will always be true.”

‘Right to Defend’

The former vice president also expressed concern over the pressure campaign calling for the resignation of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over allegations of mortgage fraud.

“I know the president’s called on her to resign, but she has a right to defend herself,” Pence said hours after the US Department of Justice signaled possible plans to investigate Cook over the matter.

“My hope is that these latest allegations are not simply part of that overall pressure campaign and can be afforded the due process that they deserve,” he added.

Ed Martin, a Justice Department official who has led similar investigations, in a letter Thursday to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that Cook’s case “requires further examination” and encouraged the central bank chief to remove Cook from the board. Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte wrote a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi on Aug. 15 suggesting that Cook may have committed a criminal offense, alleging that she “falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms.”

Trump, who has waged an aggressive campaign against Powell and others at the central bank over the decision to hold rates steady, has called for Cook’s resignation.

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