Election 2024

Trump panned the CHIPS Act. Harris is in Michigan promoting it

Vice President Harris speaks to reporters in Philadelphia on Oct. 27, 2024.
Vice President Harris speaks to reporters in Philadelphia on Oct. 27, 2024.
Saul Loeb/AFP

Vice President Kamala Harris plans stops in the swing state of Michigan on Monday to highlight big federal investments in manufacturing jobs that former President Donald Trump has recently panned.

The investments come from the CHIPS and Science Act — a bipartisan bill that's pouring $54 billion into the semiconductor manufacturing industry to try to bring back an industry that is dominated by Taiwan, South Korea and China.

Harris plans to visit an assembly line at a Saginaw plant owned by Corning that makes polysilicon used in semiconductors. The plant received $325 million in CHIPS funding. She also plans to tour a union training facility in Macomb County, her campaign told reporters.

The visit comes as some Democrats urge Harris to focus more on the economy in the waning days of the campaign.

Investments from the CHIPS Act have supported massive expansions of the semiconductor industry in Arizona — another swing state — as well as other regions of the country. The White House has said the projects backed by CHIPS funding have helped create more than 115,000 jobs.

Former President Donald Trump — seen here during a news conference on Oct. 25, 2024, in Austin, Texas, — did an interview last week with podcaster Joe Rogan, seen here in an Aug. 18, 2023 file photo.
Former President Donald Trump — seen here during a news conference on Oct. 25, 2024, in Austin, Texas, — did an interview last week with podcaster Joe Rogan, seen here in an Aug. 18, 2023 file photo.
AP/AP

On Friday, Trump blasted the law during a lengthy interview on The Joe Rogan Experience. "That chip deal is so bad, Trump said on the podcast, saying the subsidies went to "rich companies."

Trump said he could have imposed tariffs to get more companies to build the facilities in the United States.

Copyright 2024, NPR