Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday took House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to task for his comment that Republicans could try to repeal the CHIPS and Science Act if they take control of Congress in the upcoming elections.
“I also want to address comments recently made by the Speaker of the House of Representatives,” Harris told reporters in Milwaukee. “It’s just further proof of everything I’ve been talking about for months [former President Donald] Trump’s intention to implement Project 2025.”
“We’ve spoken repeatedly – and the American people know what’s in it – we’ve spoken repeatedly about their intention to get rid of the Affordable Care Act. Now to repeal the CHIPS Act,” Harris added.
Her comments came a day after Johnson made the controversial remark at an event in New York with politically vulnerable Rep. Brandon Williams, R-N.Y. Asked whether Republicans will try to repeal the CHIPS Act if they win the election, Johnson said, “I expect we probably will,” according to a video posted by a local journalist.
Johnson’s statement led to an awkward discussion in which Williams stood next to him and disagreed. “The CHIPS Act has a huge impact here,” Williams said, pledging to remind Johnson “day and night” of the law’s importance.
Johnson responded by praising Williams: “If that’s important to your district, then you need this guy to make that case.”
Not long after, as the clip began circulating, Johnson walked back his comment, saying in a statement: “As I have further explained and clarified, I fully support Micron coming to Central NY, and the CHIPS Act is not on the agenda for withdrawal. Rather, legislation could be introduced to further streamline and improve the bill’s primary goal – eliminating costly regulations and Green New Deal requirements.”
Williams said in a statement that he spoke with Johnson after the event and that the speaker “apologized profusely and said he had misunderstood the question.”
Later in Saturday’s news conference, Harris continued to criticize Johnson and Republicans, saying the speaker retracted his comment “because it’s not popular and their agenda is not popular.”
“And that’s why people are showing up in the thousands, tens of thousands, to talk about an agenda that is actually aimed at uplifting them,” the vice president added.
She wasn’t the first Democrat to attack Johnson for his comments.
“Wow – Mike Johnson confirms he and Trump would repeal the CHIPS Act, which invests in new factories and manufacturing in PA, MI, NC, GA, AZ and creates thousands of jobs,” Harris spokesperson Ian Sams wrote on X on Friday. .
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., also wrote on want to send pink slips.”
Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly’s spokesman, Jacob Peters, also criticized Johnson, writing in a post on X: “He didn’t get anything wrong. His only mistake was being honest.”
The CHIPS Act was passed by Congress on a bipartisan basis and signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022.
It has allocated $280 billion in new funding to boost domestic research and production of semiconductors and chips. It has also allocated funding for other science, technology and engineering programs.
According to the Commerce Department, the CHIPS and Science Act has led to $53 billion in semiconductor spending; $30 billion in private sector investments across 23 projects and 15 states; 16 new semiconductor factories and approximately 115,000 new manufacturing and construction jobs by the end of 2024.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
