Biden admin seeks to exhaust CHIPS Act funding before Biden leaves office
The Biden administration is racing against the clock to spend every dollar allocated under President Biden’s CHIPS and Science Act before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. According to Commerce Department Secretary Gina Raimondo, the agency’s goal is to have almost all of the money obligated by the end of Biden’s term, viewing the upcoming transition to a Trump administration as a clear deadline.
In an interview with Politico, Raimondo emphasized the importance of getting all major announcements and research and development funding out the door before the change in administration. She has been pushing her staff hard to meet these goals, with the department working diligently to ensure the spending is completed on time.
The CHIPS and Science Act allocated approximately $53 billion to bolster semiconductor supply chains in the U.S. and invest in research and development initiatives. Despite this significant funding, only two companies have formalized binding awards to receive funding so far. In order to disburse all the allocated funds before Trump’s arrival, the agency must secure multiple multibillion-dollar deals. While much of the grant money has been provisionally awarded, complex negotiations are holding up the process, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Meanwhile, Trump has been vocal about his plans to rollback Biden’s spending initiatives and has criticized the CHIPS Act as being inadequate. He has also shown support for trade tariffs as a means to promote domestic manufacturing. Trump recently announced Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick as his choice to replace Raimondo, with Lutnick also backing Trump’s stance on trade tariffs and reducing government spending.
The Department of Commerce did not provide any on-the-record comments to Fox News Digital prior to publication of this story. The ongoing efforts to spend the allocated funds under the CHIPS and Science Act highlight the urgency and importance of supporting domestic chip manufacturing and research and development initiatives in the U.S.
