President Trump said he is considering having the government take part ownership of airline companies in return for the federal assistance they are set to receive to weather the pandemic.
“We have to keep our airlines going, and we’re going to be using some — now, maybe we’ll take a piece of the airlines for the country, for our country, where we loan money and we take a piece,” Trump said during a press conference at the White House Thursday evening.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reportedly indicated earlier on Thursday that the federal government would take equity stakes in some airlines in return for billions of dollars in direct grants to the companies.
The airline grants are part of the massive $2 trillion coronavirus economic relief package that passed in the Senate on Thursday and is expected to get approval from the House and Trump before becoming law in the next few days.
Boeing CEO David Calhoun said earlier this week that his company may turn down financial aid from the federal government if the Treasury Department demands a stake in the company in exchange.
“All we want is to make sure the credit markets are open for business so we can continue to work toward that recovery,” Calhoun said on Fox Business on March 22. “If they force it, we just look at all the other options, and we’ve got plenty of them.”
