Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC the U.S. government wants a stake in Intel in exchange for CHIPS Act grant money promised under Biden.

Liberal U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders on Wednesday threw his support behind President Donald Trump's plan to convert U.S. grants to chipmakers, including $10.9 billion for Intel, into government stakes in the companies.

Lutnick just laughed it off, indignantly pointing out that “we were just giving away the money” under the previous terms of the CHIPS Act. But the legality of any equity stake would likely be challenged by both Intel shareholders and competitors in the industry, according to the Times.

Shares in the chip maker rose following news of SoftBank’s planned investment and a possible stake for the U.S. government.

After months of turbulence, Intel Corp. bulls are finally being rewarded for their patience. But the stock’s sudden rebound comes with a worrying side effect: a valuation so high its most recent precedent is from the dot-com era more than two decades ago.

Stock futures fell Wednesday as markets awaited earnings from big-name retailers and the release of minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting.These stocks were poised to make moves Wednesday:Palantir Technologies fell 0.

Intel is in talks with other large investors to receive an equity infusion at a discounted price, CNBC reported on Wednesday, just days after the struggling chipmaker got a $2 billion capital injection from SoftBank Group.