Johnson Says GOP 'Probably Will' Try to Repeal CHIPS Act

House Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday that Republicans "probably will" try to repeal legislation that spurred US production of semiconductor chips, a statement he quickly tried to walk back by saying he'd like to instead "streamline" it. Johnson made the initial comment while campaigning for a vulnerable New York GOP congressman in a district that's anticipating a large new Micron semiconductor manufacturing plant. A reporter asked Johnson whether he'd try to repeal the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, which Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump had disparaged last week. "I expect that we probably will, but we haven't developed that part of the agenda yet," Johnson replied, per the AP.

Democrats quickly jumped on the Republican speaker's comments, warning that it showed how Johnson and Trump are pursuing an aggressive conservative agenda bent on dismantling even popular government programs. The White House has credited the CHIPS Act for spurring hundreds of billions of dollars of investments, as well as hundreds of thousands of jobs. Vice President Kamala Harris has pointed to the legislation on the campaign trail as proof that Democrats can be entrusted with the US economy. Johnson, who voted against the legislation, later said in a statement that the CHIPS Act, which poured $54 billion into the semiconductor manufacturing industry, "is not on the agenda for repeal."

"To the contrary, there could be legislation to further streamline and improve the primary purpose of the bill—to eliminate its costly regulations and Green New Deal requirements," the speaker's statement said. It wasn't the first recent comment Johnson has had to walk back. Earlier this week, he had to clean up comments he made saying he wanted to "take a blowtorch to the regulatory state" and make "massive" changes to the Affordable Care Act. After facing political blowback, he said that repealing the health care law was "not on the table." The incident was emblematic of Johnson's struggle working closely with Trump and at the same time campaigning for his House colleagues, especially those locked in tough reelection battles that are crucial to Republicans holding a narrow majority. More here.

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