House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters Friday he expects Republicans to try and repeal the CHIPS Act if GOP lawmakers take control of Congress and former President Donald Trump wins the presidency, later walking back the comment, which would have marked the most explicit a top Republican has been this election cycle about moving to repeal act that aims to strengthen the United States’ standing in the global semiconductor race.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks to supporters of former President Donald Trump, at ... [+]
Johnson said “I expect that we probably will,” when asked if Republicans will attempt to repeal the act if Trump wins and Republicans have control of Congress following the election.
Rep. Brandon Williams, R-N.Y., spoke to reporters alongside Johnson and did not seem to share his opinion—though he did not answer whether he would vote to repeal or keep the act, he said he will remind Johnson “night and day how important the CHIPS Act is.”
Johnson later said in a statement the CHIPS Act “is not on the agenda for repeal,” suggesting the bill could be modified to fall further in line with Republican policies.
Williams said he spoke with Johnson immediately after the Syracuse event and said the speaker told him he misheard the question and “apologized profusely.”
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The CHIPS and Science Act was signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022 and is designed to bring semiconductor chip manufacturing to the U.S. through more than $50 billion in funds allocated toward semiconductor research, development, manufacturing and workforce development. Semiconductor chips, which are largely manufactured in countries like Taiwan and South Korea, are used to produce devices across industries including computing, healthcare, energy and more. The act has run into obstacles as it provides money for companies to bring semiconductor manufacturing to the United States. Most notably, delays have hindered semiconductor factory construction in the U.S., as building such facilities is a complex process involving billions of dollars in machinery and can potentially cost more than the construction of a nuclear power plant, according to The New York Times.
Republicans have criticized provisions within the CHIPS Act related to climate research and national security. However, GOP lawmakers, who control the House by a slim margin, have not explicitly pushed back against the act as much as Johnson did Friday before he walked back his comment. Trump recently said during an episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast the CHIPS Act “is so bad,” criticizing the incentives given to foreign companies and saying he would instead implement tariffs on chips from Taiwan if elected. He accused Taiwan of stealing the U.S. chip business and leveraging it so it can gain U.S. protection from a potential Chinese invasion. Experts have warned tariffs would raise prices for consumers.
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