‘Semiconductor slush fund’: How the Trump admin seized control of Biden’s $7.4 billion chips initiative
Accounts from more than 50 people paint the most extensive look yet at Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s sudden rethink of a major Biden-era chips initiative and the fallout.
A $7.4 billion tech initiative devised as the linchpin of America’s semiconductor resurgence is in limbo after the Commerce Department abruptly yanked its funding, triggering mass layoffs and pushing a group the Biden administration chose to lead the effort to the brink of shutdown.
Natcast, which brought together premier chip companies and research universities, had a multi-billion-dollar contract to secure the United States’ place as the epicenter of advancements in semiconductors. President Donald Trump and lawmakers from both parties still recognize the directive as essential in the global technology race with China.
