Renegotiate CHIPS Act awards to extract more private investment for less federal money.
Executed, and further than the statute’s authors intended. He withheld or slowed subsidies to pressure Intel, Samsung and Micron into raising their own U.S. investment, and converted federal support into government equity — a roughly 10% stake in Intel against about $11 billion in subsidies. NIST’s own press release confirms the pattern continuing at smaller scale: seven more letters of intent worth $874 million signed in July 2026, each carrying "a minority, non-controlling equity stake" for the government "to enhance the return for the U.S. taxpayer." The pushback from his own party is substantial and specific: Fox News’s own coverage cites a National Review editorial stating flatly that "government shouldn’t get into the chip business," alongside Sen. Thom Tillis calling the arrangement "a semi-state-owned enterprise a la CCCP" and Sen. Rand Paul calling it "a step toward socialism." The renegotiation promise was kept; whether the mechanism was authorized is disputed within his own party, by name, on the record.
- News reportThe Hill
- Official's own officeNIST / U.S. Department of Commerce — CHIPS Program press release
- News reportFox News