Under the deal, the US government is committing $8.9 billion to purchase Intel stock, which would give the government a 9.9% stake in the company. That's in addition to the $2.2 billion grant Intel has already received from the US under the CHIPS Act, which was signed into law by former President Joe Biden in 2022.

Such federal government ownership of a major corporation would mark a dramatic departure from long-standing U.S. policy.