Nandini Roy Choudhury, writer
By TechSun News Desk | techsunnews.com | June 7, 2026 | Tech / AI / Politics | 5 min read
When Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders agree on something you know something genuinely unusual is happening.
This week, both men landed on the same side of one of the biggest tech debates of 2026: should the US government own a piece of OpenAI? Trump said yes. Sanders said yes. Even Steve Bannon for different reasons — said yes.
And OpenAI CEO Sam Altman? He was the one who pitched the idea in the first place.
Let us work out what is actually going on here — because there is a lot more to this than a political headline.
What Trump Actually Said
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on June 5, President Trump confirmed that the White House is in active discussions about taking a direct equity stake in OpenAI. His exact words: “You make them a partnership in this revolution. It would be a beautiful thing.”
This is not a new conversation. According to multiple reports confirmed by CNBC, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman first pitched this idea directly to Trump in early 2025 and has been quietly developing it with senior White House officials ever since.
The proposed structure: OpenAI would donate equity — not sell it — to the federal government. Those shares would go into what OpenAI calls a “Public Wealth Fund” — a sovereign investment vehicle designed to distribute AI profits to ordinary Americans. No taxpayer money changes hands. The government just gets a stake for free.
| 📌 Key detail: This is voluntary — at least for now. OpenAI is offering shares. Nobody is forcing them to. Whether that stays voluntary is the part worth watching. |
And Then There Is Sanders — Who Wants Something Very Different
Senator Bernie Sanders saw the same opportunity and went considerably further.
His American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act would impose a one-time 50% tax on OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI — paid in stock, not cash. The government would receive voting shares, board representation, and equal say in company decisions. Ultimately, ordinary Americans would receive dividend checks from the fund.
Sanders’ argument, spelled out in a Senate op-ed: “AI is built on our collective intelligence — our books, songs, artwork. Those who built these companies used the creative work of millions without permission or compensation. The public deserves a return.”
This is not a gentle nudge.This proposal would give the government a much larger ownership stake and greater influence over AI companies than OpenAI’s voluntary plan. And the wild part? Steve Bannon — on the complete opposite end of the political spectrum — publicly agreed with the 50% number, calling OpenAI’s voluntary offer “tip money from oligarchs.”
| 🤯 Think about that: Bernie Sanders. Donald Trump. Steve Bannon. All pointing in the same direction on AI ownership. That does not happen in normal political times. |
Why Is This Happening Right Now?
Timing matters here. The timing has attracted attention because OpenAI is reportedly
preparing for a massive IPO targeting a $1 trillion valuation — expected between September and November 2026. Giving the government an equity stake before that listing is a strategic move. It buys political goodwill, reduces regulatory risk, and lets OpenAI tell the public: “you own a piece of this.”
And public opinion is not on AI’s side right now. A recent Quinnipiac poll found 55% of Americans think AI will do more harm than good in their daily lives. A YouGov poll put public skepticism even higher at 71%. The political pressure to do something about AI concentration of wealth is real and growing.
This connects to everything we have been tracking — Sanders and AOC’s push to freeze AI data center expansion, China banning companies from firing workers because of AI, and the broader question of who actually benefits when AI replaces jobs. Governments are waking up to the fact that AI wealth is concentrating very fast in very few hands.
What About Anthropic — And What Does This Mean for ChatGPT?
Anthropic — the company behind Claude, one of the biggest ChatGPT competitors — has publicly confirmed it is not part of these equity discussions. That is a meaningful split in how the two biggest AI labs are approaching Washington.
For everyday ChatGPT users, the immediate impact is probably nothing. The product keeps working. But longer term, government equity means government influence — potentially on pricing, access, safety requirements, and what the AI can and cannot do.
Some observers have also raised questions: if the US government owns a stake in OpenAI, what does that mean for how ChatGPT handles politically sensitive topics? Who decides what the AI says about elections, immigration, abortion, foreign policy? Government shareholders have board representation under Sanders’ bill. That is a significant amount of power over a tool that 900 million people use every week.
And it connects to the broader privacy concern — AI tools are already collecting enormous amounts of data. Government ownership does not make that better.
The Bigger Picture — SpaceX Is Next
This debate does not stop at OpenAI. Sanders’ bill explicitly targets xAI — which merged with SpaceX earlier this year and is set to list on Nasdaq on June 12 in what could be the largest IPO in history. A 50% government tax on SpaceX equity would be the most dramatic government intervention in American business since the New Deal.
That bill is unlikely to pass in its current form — the tech industry is strongly opposed and has significant lobbying power. But the fact that it exists, has bipartisan sympathy, and is being taken seriously in Washington tells you where the political wind is blowing.
The AI companies that figure out how to make ordinary people feel they have a stake in this technology will win. The ones that do not will face increasing regulation, taxation, and public hostility. OpenAI is betting that a voluntary equity donation is cheaper than the alternative. They may well be right.
FAQ
1. Would the government actually run OpenAI if it owned a stake?
Under Trump’s voluntary framework — no. The government would hold shares and potentially receive dividends, but OpenAI would continue to operate independently. Under Sanders’ bill, it is different — the government would have voting shares and board representation, giving real influence over company decisions. Those are two very different levels of control, and which one happens depends entirely on which bill, if either, actually becomes law.
2. Would ordinary Americans actually receive money from this?
That is the plan in both proposals — but the timeline is vague. OpenAI’s Public Wealth Fund concept talks about distributing AI profits to citizens eventually. Sanders’ bill would do the same through dividend checks from the sovereign wealth fund. How much, when, and to whom are details that have not been worked out. Do not expect a check in the mail anytime soon.
3. Does this affect me as a ChatGPT user right now?
Not immediately. ChatGPT works the same today as it did yesterday. But watch for two things over the next 12 months: any changes to what ChatGPT will and won’t discuss, and any changes to pricing. Both could be influenced by the political pressure OpenAI is now under. A company trying to stay on the right side of both the White House and Congress has a lot of competing incentives to manage.
| 💬 Your Take — We Want to Know: Do you think the US government should own a stake in OpenAI and other AI companies? Is it fair that AI companies built on publicly created content should share the profits with the public? Or does government ownership of AI companies worry you more than it reassures you? Drop your honest opinion in the comments — there is no wrong answer here, and this is exactly the kind of debate that affects all of us. |
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