Michigan Democrat backs Trump equity stakes, critical mineral loans and AI energy pledge
Against the backdrop of expanding federal capital deployment into strategic industries, a House Democrat has stepped outside party lines to endorse three pillars of the Trump administration's industrial policy. Rep. Haley Stevens…
Key takeaways
- Rep. Haley Stevens, a Michigan House Democrat, endorsed three parts of the Trump administration's industrial policy: federal equity stakes in strategic firms, loan guarantees for domestic critical mineral producers, and a White House framework for managing AI-era electricity cost
- The administration converted $8.9 billion in federal funding into a 9.9% nonvoting stake in Intel, while the Pentagon separately took a 15% stake in rare-earth producer MP Materials.
- Stevens backed the Ratepayer Protection Pledge, a White House framework uniting utilities, data center developers, cooperatives and state governments to limit electricity cost increases as AI infrastructure spending accelerates.
- Stevens continued to call Trump's broader agenda dangerous and said the wealthiest Americans should 'absolutely' pay more in taxes, even while endorsing specific pieces of his policy.
- White House spokesman Kush Desai noted Stevens voted against the administration more than 80% of the time, including against what the White House calls the largest working-class tax cut in history.
Against the backdrop of expanding federal capital deployment into strategic industries, a House Democrat has stepped outside party lines to endorse three pillars of the Trump administration's industrial policy. Rep. Haley Stevens of Michigan told Fox News Digital she supports government ownership positions in high-growth sectors, loan guarantees for domestic critical mineral producers, and the White House's framework for managing electricity costs during the AI infrastructure buildout.
Federal equity stakes and the capex cycle
The administration's equity program is generating unrealized paper gains. It converted $8.9 billion in federal funding into a 9.9% nonvoting stake in Intel, and the Pentagon separately took a 15% stake in rare-earth producer MP Materials. Both positions have risen in value since the government took them, though neither gain is realized until the shares are sold. Stevens endorsed the approach, telling Fox News Digital: "If federal dollars are used, like what Mr. Elon Musk got from the federal government, so potentially this current administration could be right that ownership stakes should be on the table."
On critical minerals, Stevens said she is "really fired up," framing domestic underproduction as a strategic vulnerability to China. She backed loan guarantees for mining firms, a tool the administration is currently deploying. Stevens also endorsed the Ratepayer Protection Pledge, a White House framework drawing together utilities, data center developers, cooperatives and state governments to limit electricity cost increases as AI infrastructure spending accelerates. She pointed to the Obama-era auto-rescue task force, where she worked alongside Bush administration holdovers and Republican members, as evidence that large-scale cross-partisan coordination can work.
Political crosscurrents
The White House response was pointed. Spokesman Kush Desai noted that Stevens voted against the administration more than 80% of the time in Congress, including against legislation the White House describes as the largest working-class tax cut in history. Stevens endorsed Abdul El-Sayed, now the Democratic nominee for Senate in Michigan, after losing a primary to him, and called Trump's broader agenda dangerous even while endorsing pieces of it. She said the wealthiest Americans should "absolutely" pay more in taxes, placing higher top-end revenues alongside economic growth as part of the answer to funding healthcare and infrastructure.
Stevens chairs the House's bipartisan manufacturing caucus and cited ongoing work with Rep. French Hill of Arkansas on legislation targeting foreign adversaries as a further area for cross-aisle cooperation. The White House did not respond to a separate request for comment from Fox News Digital on Tuesday.
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