Trump’s proposed repeal of CHIPS law could cost jobs in Michigan

President Donald Trump is urging the repeal of a bipartisan 2022 law that has helped generate hundreds of billions of dollars in announced investment in the semiconductor manufacturing industry and is projected to create hundreds of thousands of domestic jobs.

The CHIPS and Science Act passed 64-33 in the Senate and 243-187 in the House of Representatives, with every congressional Democrat and dozens of Republicans voting in favor, and was signed into law by President Joe Biden. The law’s name is an acronym for “Creating helpful incentives to produce semiconductors.” It increased funding for American science and technology research and authorized billions of dollars in incentives to encourage businesses to manufacture semiconductors in the United States. 

In his March 4 address to Congress, Trump called for repeal of the law, which he said was wasteful: “Your CHIPS Act is a horrible, horrible thing. We give hundreds of billions of dollars, and it doesn’t mean a thing. … You should get rid of the CHIP [sic] Act. And whatever is left over, Mr. Speaker, you should use it to reduce debt or any other reason you want to.”

Trump claimed businesses take CHIPS funds without using them for the intended purposes. Asked for comment for this story, the White House press office replied, “Please refer to President Trump’s remarks during his Joint Address.”

In an April 2024 Financial Times op-ed called “The Chips Act Has Been Surprisingly Successful So Far,” Chris Miller, a nonresident senior fellow at the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute, wrote: “With recent multi-billion-dollar grants to Intel, TSMC, Samsung, and Micron, the US government has now spent over half its $39bn in Chips Act incentives. In so doing it has driven an unexpected investment boom.”

According to a 2024 Semiconductor Industry Association report: “As of August 2024, companies in the semiconductor ecosystem had announced more than 90 new manufacturing projects in the U.S. since CHIPS was first introduced in Congress, totaling nearly $450 billion in announced investments across 28 states. These investments are projected to create tens of thousands of direct jobs and support hundreds of thousands of additional jobs throughout the U.S. economy. The industry is also making investments in countries around the world, creating a resilient supply chain.”

While much of the funding has been spent or committed, repealing the law could imperil promised incentives and halt future investments and job growth.

In October, Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced that Hemlock Semiconductor had been awarded $325 million to build a new Saginaw County facility, creating 180 manufacturing jobs and more than 1,000 construction jobs.

“Thanks to the Biden-Harris administration’s bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act and the U.S. Department of Commerce, we are ensuring HSC’s global leadership in the powerful domestic supply chain to manufacture semiconductor chips needed for everything from computers and phones to AI applications,” Whitmer said. “Together, we are strengthening national and economic security by ensuring supply chains, good-paying jobs, and cutting-edge investments are where they belong—here at home.”

Michigan Democratic Sen. Gary Peters responded to Trump’s comments on March 5, writing on social media: “The CHIPS and Science Act is actively putting the U.S. in a position to outcompete China and secure our domestic semiconductor supply chain. It’s creating thousands of good-paying jobs in Michigan in the process. I’ll do everything I can to make sure Pres. Trump can’t dismantle it.”

“The bipartisan CHIPS Act is not a waste of money, Mr. President,” posted Michigan Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens. “It’s creating 500,000 jobs & majorly lessening our dependence on China. It’s a real industrial policy that brings manufacturing back to America, unlike your many failed attempts to pass an infrastructure law.”