President Donald Trump is asking Congress to repeal the CHIPS and Science Act, a 2022 law that is providing more than $6 billion to support Micron's expansion in central New York.听
Trump blasted the CHIPS Act as "a horrible, horrible thing" during his address to Congress Tuesday.听
"You should get rid of the CHIPS Act, and whatever's left over, Mr. Speaker, you should use it to reduce debt, or any other reason you want to," Trump said.听
It wasn't the first time Trump has criticized the 2022 law signed by former President Joe Biden. He called it "so bad" during an interview with Joe Rogan in October.听
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The CHIPS and Science Act includes $52 billion to boost domestic semiconductor chip manufacturing. The funding, including the $6.1 billion for Micron, was awarded before Biden left office.听
To bolster his argument against the CHIPS Act, Trump highlighted Taiwan Semiconductor's announcement that it will invest an additional $100 billion to build chip manufacturing plants in the U.S.听
"We're giving them no money," Trump said. "All that was important to them was they didn't want to pay the tariffs, so they came and they're building, and many other companies are coming."聽
But Taiwan Semiconductor has benefited from the CHIPS and Science Act. In November, the Biden administration to the company for its planned project in Arizona.听
U.S. Rep. John Mannion, whose district includes Onondaga County where Micron plans to build its fabs, noted that bringing semiconductor chip manufacturing back to the U.S. is a national security issue. He also mentioned the bipartisan support for the CHIPS and Science Act. One of his predecessors, former Republican U.S. Rep. John Katko, voted for the bill.听
As a state senator, Mannion advocated for the Green CHIPS legislation to provide state incentives for Micron and other manufacturers.听
"Contracts have been signed, money has been allocated and is out the door, and Micron is fully committed to the project and to our region," Mannion, D-Geddes, said. "I'll continue to work with Democrats and Republicans at all levels of government to ensure this generational opportunity moves forward."聽
Despite Trump's call to repeal the CHIPS Act, there could be Republican opposition to that effort. Some of the projects supported by the law are in states with GOP senators or districts with GOP representatives.听
Government reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 664-4631 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on X @RobertHarding.
Robert Harding
Online producer/politics reporter
