(The Center Square) – A Spokane-based aerospace manufacturer must reapply for $48 million in funding after the Trump administration announced changes to the grant program on Friday.
Established under the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, the Tech Hubs Program intends to bolster semiconductor manufacturing nationwide. The Biden administration allocated $500 million to the initiative just before leaving office, but President Donald Trump wants to pull some of that back.
Nearly half of the allocation relied on future revenues while awarding grants to six of 31 hubs based on applications from almost a year ago. The U.S. Department of Commerce announced on Friday that each awardee must reapply and compete against the other hubs for the funding.
“To be clear, this decision is not an indictment of the work that the previously selected Tech Hubs are doing,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick wrote in a statement. “This decision is about fairness and making prudent choices with hard-earned taxpayer dollars.”
The American Aerospace Materials Manufacturing Center in Spokane was one of the hubs that received funding in January for $48 million. Commerce says it will review the applications from the six hubs promised funding first, but that doesn’t guarantee that each will receive grants.
According to a program fact sheet, any tech hub that hopes to receive funding this round must present how their project “will be a bargain to taxpayers” and remove references contradicting Trump’s executive orders around diversity, equity and inclusion, and energy independence.
“Let’s be clear: Donald Trump and his know-nothing Commerce Secretary are wrongfully ripping away federal dollars owed to Spokane—what is happening is unprecedented and nothing short of an outrage,” U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., wrote in a Friday statement. “Our constituents are losing $48 million for no other reason than Donald Trump’s absurd political games.”
Trump thinks the CHIPS Act costs American taxpayers too much compared to attracting private investment. Since January, his administration has announced trillions of dollars in investments from other countries and foreign and domestic-based corporations over the coming years.
Since Trump started his second term, Apple, Nvidia, IBM, Toyota, Lego, and dozens of other entities have invested billions of dollars in American manufacturing. It will take years to see these investments play out, making it difficult to predict their impact compared to the CHIPS Act.
“This decision is a mistake for our regional and national economy. The $48 million in tech hub funding was a down payment to secure American competitiveness in aerospace manufacturing,” Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown wrote in a statement. “We deserve better, and I am calling on our congressional delegation to join me in demanding the Trump Administration reverse this decision.”
