Republicans show little appetite to repeal CHIPS Act
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Former President Joe Biden announced a CHIPS Act grant for Intel's Arizona facility in March 2024. Photo: Rebecca Noble/Getty Images
Three weeks after President Trump called on Congress to repeal the CHIPS and Science Act, there appears to be little political appetite to do so.
Why it matters: Arizona has been one of the largest benefactors of the Biden-era legislation, which provides loans and grants to semiconductor companies built on U.S. soil.
- Leaders on both sides of the aisle have credited the CHIPS Act with bringing new high-wage jobs to the state.
State of play: Trump in his February joint address to Congress called the CHIPS Act a "horrible, horrible thing" that gives away money with no promise of return and asked U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson to repeal it. Democrats were quick to attack.
- "Really, President Trump? It's creating tens of thousands of Arizona jobs," U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly posted on X.
- "Since we've done the CHIPS Act, we have had more foreign direct investment [in Phoenix] than any other place in the United States of America. It has been a massive success," U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton told KTAR.
Between the lines: Republicans locally and nationally are either defending the legislation or keeping quiet, and Johnson has made no effort to push forward a repeal vote.
The intrigue: Repealing the CHIPS Act would be an especially tough vote for Arizona's swing-district Republicans, U.S. Reps. David Schweikert and Juan Ciscomani, whose districts have directly benefited from Arizona's semiconductor boom.
- Schweikert voted against the CHIPS Act in 2022.
- Ciscomani hadn't yet been elected at the time the legislation passed, but last year he released a statement in support of it, saying that it creates "an even more attractive, competitive business environment across the state."
- Neither congressman responded to our request for comment.
Reality check: Even if there was political will to repeal the CHIPS Act, the legality of clawing back funds from businesses is murky.
- The Biden administration finalized grant agreements with most CHIPS Act recipients, including all three in Arizona: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. ($6.6 billion), Intel ($7.9 billion) and Amkor ($407 million).
- These are binding contracts between the U.S. government and the companies that cannot be undone without cause, the Biden administration said last year.
Zoom in: Intel and TSMC have confirmed they've each already received more than $1 billion of CHIPS Act funding.
- Intel, TSMC and Amkor all declined to comment for this story.
What we're watching: Semiconductor industry executives have been formulating plans to try to convince Trump of the CHIPS Act's importance since he was elected in November, the New York Times reported last week.
Friction point: The day before Trump's remark, he announced TSMC would spend another $100 billion to expand its Phoenix facility.
- His own commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, noted that TSMC's initial $65 billion investment in Phoenix was "encouraged" by a CHIPS Act grant the company received.