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Home Front: Politix

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick cancels ‘unlawful' $7.4B deal to fund semiconductor research for a nonprofit associated with Biden.

2025-08-26

Oh my.

[Total News] WASHINGTON — Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has terminated the Biden administration’s agreement to distribute substantial funding for semiconductor research via nonprofit organizations, as revealed in a letter obtained by the Post.

The 2022 Chips and Science Act allocated $11 billion for semiconductor R&D, which was meant to be managed by the Department of Commerce’s National Semiconductor Technology Center.

However, Lutnick expressed concerns in his letter to Natcast CEO Deirdre Hanford. He pointed out that instead of forming these organizations within the department, officials were directing considerable resources toward creating external entities to handle public funds.

Just four days before Biden stepped down on January 20th, Lutnick arranged for a $7.4 billion "prepaid" agreement for Natcast after nearly two years of establishing the Commerce Department and staffing it with allies and advisors.
I think they meant Hanford, not Lutnick

Good catch — they did.

This deal effectively limited the next Trump administration’s role and secured essential funding for Natcast.

The funding was intended to remain effective until 2034.

Lutnick’s letter further stated that these actions not only risk fraud but also fail to comply with federal law, as the Chips Act does not authorize external organizations like Natcast to manage the distribution of semiconductor research funds.

He noted that the Government Corporation Control Act prohibits companies from acting as governmental bodies without explicit approval, implying the January 16, 2025 agreement aimed to circumvent this restriction.

The Natcast Selection Committee included various Biden administration alumni, such as Jason Matheney, a former deputy director of the White House Science and Technology Policy, and Kendra Wilkerson, who leads a nonprofit promoting equity in tech.

Additionally, Donna Dubinski, another executive from Natcast, had previously worked as a senior advisor for former Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and registered the organization for 501(c)(3) status.

Current vice-chair of the Biden Department of Commerce’s Chips Law Advisory Committee, Susan Feind,

…elsewhere spelt Feindt…

now serves as Natcast’s senior vice president for ecosystem development.

Courtesy of Fred, the NY Post adds:

That arrangement both effectively removed the incoming Trump administration from being involved in the process and provided "virtually all" of Natcast’s funding — prompting incoming Departments of Justice and Commerce officials to take another look at the Sunnyvale, Calif., nonprofit.

"These actions do not just give the appearance of impropriety; they flout federal law," Lutnick told Hanford, pointing out that no provisions in the CHIPS Act authorized an outside entity like Natcast to distribute semiconductor research funds.

"The GCCA [Government Corporation Control Act] plainly prohibits agencies from establishing a corporation to act as an agency without specific authorization, and the January 16, 2025, agreement does nothing other than set forth the terms of the Biden Administration’s attempt to do just that."

Kendra Wilkerson, the CEO of a nonprofit that "promotes greater equality for women and nonbinary professionals in technology fields," according to the Biden Commerce Department.

Jeremy Licht, the former chief counsel on semiconductor incentives at the Biden Commerce Department, is now the general counsel at Natcast.

Hanford, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment, also served on the Biden Commerce Department’s Industrial Advisory Committee.

Lutnick’s revocation of the funding comes after Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin revealed appointees of the 46th president were "rushing to get billions of dollars out the door before Inauguration Day" to lefty nongovernmental organizations.

Trump’s EPA chief recently told The Post’s Miranda Devine on her "Pod Force One" podcast that he uncovered $20 billion "parked at an outside financial institution," later revealed to be Citibank, that was meant to be sent "through eight pass-through entities ... riddled with self-dealing and conflicts of interest."

Posted by:Besoeker

#1 Considering Universities already have research funds handling departments, and commercial chip producers already have research partners, this would seem to be graft in the department of redundancy department.

Posted by: Skidmark 2025-08-26 09:21

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