‘Surprised’ GOP lawmakers push back against Trump’s call to repeal ‘horrible’ CHIPS Act

Republicans are pushing back against President Donald Trump’s call to repeal the CHIPS Act.

The CHIPS and Science Act, signed into law by Joe Biden in 2022, was reportedly designed to boost domestic semiconductor production and innovation while reducing foreign dependency. The Act allocates $52.7 billion for domestic semiconductor manufacturing and R&D, intending to create jobs and compete with China.

President Trump, however, doesn’t see it that way, he blasted the CHIPS Act as a “horrible, horrible thing” that spends billions with little to nothing to show for it. Trump called on Congress to “get rid of it” during his Joint Sessions speech on Tuesday.

TRUMP — CONGRESS SHOULD CANCEL THE CHIPS ACT.pic.twitter.com/iIp96c6Vml

— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) March 6, 2025

Republican lawmakers say that the president’s call to abolish the act is dead on arrival, but are willing to compromise on “tweaking” the bill, The Hill reported.

“I think reconstituting domestic manufacturing of advanced semiconductors is a national security and economic imperative,” Texas Sen. John Cornyn said.

“The whole purpose of this was national security,” Cornyn, one of 17 Republicans to support the Act, argued, according to The Hill.

“Because if there’s a disruption between Asia or Taiwan, to be more specific, and the United States, we would plunge into a depression and we wouldn’t be able to build advanced weapons or aircraft like the F-35,” he said.

Cornyn, who’s open to “tweaks around the edges,” said the “idea” behind the Act stemmed from the first Trump administration and argued that the money is “essentially spent.”

“I understand the president suggesting maybe there’s a better way to do this than use tax dollars as incentives … but I think the original bill was responsible [for] this trend [to bring] much greater investment here in the United States,” he added, according to The Hill.

North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis was even more direct saying Trump’s call to abolish the act “is never going to happen.”

“Do you really believe we have eight or 10 votes from the Democrat side to repeal it, even if on its face we thought it was a good idea?” Tillis stated.

Tillis said a repeal measure would need strong bipartisan support “to overcome the Senate’s 60-vote hurdle for ending a filibuster,” The Hill reported.

He also noted that an attempt to repeal the CHIPS Act would probably not qualify for a Senate budget reconciliation package, which allows passage in the upper chamber with just a simple majority vote.

“I don’t believe that you can do all of it through reconciliation,” Tillis said. “I’m not even sure, of the $52 billion that was appropriated, I don’t even know what’s still unimplemented.

“It’s already been programmed,” he said. “As a practical matter, I don’t know why it would make sense.”

Indiana Republican Todd Young said he was “surprised” to hear Trump’s call to repeal the CHIPS Act, but said he’s received “reassurances” from Trump cabinet members.

“My expectation is that the administration will continue to support this supply chain resiliency and national security initiative,” he said. “If it needs to transform into a different model over a period of time, I’m certainly open to that. But let’s be clear, CHIPS and Science Act — at least the CHIPS portion — has mostly been implemented.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he, and many Republicans were caught off guard by Trump’s call to repeal CHIPS.

“That in the remarks last night was one of those statements I hadn’t heard before,” Thune said. “I haven’t given a lot of thought to it.”

“There were a lot of Republicans, I think, as you know, who voted for it,” he added.

While Republican supporters of the CHIPS Act seek common ground with Trump, many Americans praised the president’s way of doing business:

BREAKING: Trump announces that major Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer TSMC is investing $100 billion in the U.S.

– 5 “cutting edge fabrication facilities” in Arizona
– Thousands of “high paying jobs”
– Boost USA’s AI role
– Combats Taiwan’s “monopoly” on semiconductor… pic.twitter.com/nX8XqG0EFh

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 3, 2025

Latest posts by Nicole Haas (see all)

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.