Trump, touting his recent tariffs levied against countries like Mexico, Canada, and China, suggested companies were using the law’s funding for a free handout without providing any economic return.

“Your CHIPS Act is a horrible, horrible thing. We give hundreds of billions of dollars and it doesn’t mean a thing. They take our money and they don’t spend it,” Trump said without citing specifics. “All that was important to them was they didn’t want to pay the tariffs, so they came in the building and many other companies are coming. We have to give them money. We just want to protect our businesses and our people. And they will come because they won’t have to pay tariffs if they build in America. So, it’s very amazing.”

Speaking to the hundreds of lawmakers who sat before him, Trump added, “You should get rid of the CHIPS Act and whatever is left over, Mr. Speaker, you should use it to reduce debt or any other reason you want to.”

The CHIPS and Science Act passed the House with the backing of 24 Republicans and the Senate with 17 Republicans, including conservative allies who argued it would fill gaps in the U.S. supply chain that presented national security threats and would counter reliance on China for certain goods.

WHICH ITEMS WOULD BE AFFECTED BY TRUMP’S PROPOSED TARIFFS ON CANADA AND MEXICO

But the bill’s passage marked a major bipartisan achievement for Biden that came just months before Trump announced his 2024 campaign.

Trump repeatedly railed against the CHIPS and Science Act on the campaign trail, prompting House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to suggest just days before the November elections that his chamber may seek to repeal the law if Trump was elected. Johnson quickly walked back the comments amid backlash from a Republican lawmaker supportive of the law whom the speaker was campaigning for.