Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Deputy Kamala Harris stand in the House of Representatives ahead of U.S. President Joe Biden’s third State of the Union address during a joint session of the House and Senate at the U.S. Capitol on March 7, 2024 in Washington, DC, USA. president. Sean Zaw/Pool (via Reuters)
Sean Hsu | via Reuters
Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson for suggesting that Republicans could try to repeal CHIPS and the Science Act if they win Congress, a statement she has since backtracked on.
“I also want to address some recent comments made by the Speaker of the House,” Harris told reporters in Milwaukee. “This is just further evidence of what I’ve actually been talking about for months now, which is (former President Donald) Trump’s intention to implement Project 2025.”
“We have repeatedly talked about their intent to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and now repeal the CHIPS Act,” she added.
House Speaker Johnson (R-LA) spoke at a campaign event in New York on Friday about Rep. Brandon Williams (RN.Y.), a vulnerable Republican candidate in one of the most-watched House races this election cycle. ) made the comment at an election campaign event.
Asked by a reporter whether Republicans would try to repeal the law, Johnson said: “I would expect that they probably would, but we haven’t developed that part of the agenda yet.”
The CHIPS Act passed Congress in 2022 with bipartisan support. The legislation set aside nearly $53 billion in funding to build domestic semiconductor manufacturing, which is critical to the growth of strategic industries like artificial intelligence. As of August, the federal government had announced more than $30 billion in investments under the law.
Harris has made investment in manufacturing one of the central pillars of the economic foundation.
“It’s my plan and intention to continue to invest in American manufacturing. That work is done by American workers, to preserve good union jobs, and to continue to invest in American manufacturing,” Harris said in Milwaukee. We are raising it,” he said. “That’s how we compete with China in the 21st century.”
President Trump: “Tip trading is very bad”
Johnson’s comments echoed those of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who attacked the CHIPS Act in an Oct. 25 interview with Joe Rogan.
In an interview, President Trump accused Taiwan of stealing “our chip business” and called for tariffs on imported semiconductors.
“That tip deal was so bad,” Trump said. “We’ve had wealthy companies come in and borrow their money and put billions of dollars into building chip companies here, and they’re going to give us good companies anyway. I have no intention of doing so.”
Congressman Williams’ district welcomes the possibility of upcoming economic stimulus. micron Semiconductor manufacturing plants sponsored by the CHIPS Act.
“The CHIPS Act will have a huge impact here,” Williams said in a delicate clean-up effort, following Johnson’s comments. A New York state lawmaker also released a statement Friday, saying Johnson was “deeply sorry” for the gaffe and said he “misheard the question.”
Democrats only need to win four more seats to wrest the gavel from Republicans in the next Congress. According to polls so far, the Lok Sabha election is essentially a coin toss situation.
Johnson has attempted further damage control since Friday’s comments in which he said the CHIPS Act was not on the Republican agenda to repeal after election events.
Still, with just days to go before the Nov. 5 election, Democrats are on fire with their gaffes.
“The Republican Speaker of the House just said he wants to send pink slips as soon as possible to the tens of thousands of construction workers who are building the future of New York and America,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-Den.. I said in a post on Friday. X platform.