By Alexandra Alper WASHINGTON (Reuters) -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,

After the Trump administration confirmed a rumor that the US is planning to buy a 10 percent stake in Intel, US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) came forward Wednesday to voice support for the highly unusual plan, finding rare common ground with Donald Trump.

Sanders, an Independent Senator from Vermont who caucuses with the Democrats, told Reuters on Wednesday that he’s in favor of the Trump administration’s plan to convert federal grants for tech companies like Intel and TSMC into equity stakes in those companies.