Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced Monday that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will now operate the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC), replacing the National Center for the Advancement of Semiconductor Technology (Natcast), a nonprofit created during the Biden administration.
Lutnick said the CHIPS Act authorized $11 billion in federal semiconductor research funding but did not permit the Biden administration to establish and staff an outside corporation to administer those funds.
Lutnick: “Natcast Served as a Slush Fund”
“From the very beginning Natcast served as a semiconductor slush fund that did nothing but line the pockets of Biden loyalists with American tax dollars,” Lutnick said in a Commerce Department press release.
“The Biden Administration had no authority to manipulate legislation in a way that would allow them to establish, staff, and govern a corporation to act as a government agency. Ending this illegal relationship between Natcast and the NSTC will ensure that the Commerce Department keeps control of taxpayer funds and delivers investments and benefits for all Americans.”
$7.4 Billion in Advance Payments Flagged
According to Lutnick, Biden officials signed an agreement with Natcast on Jan. 16, 2025 — just days before President Trump’s inauguration — handing the nonprofit $7.4 billion in advance payments.
The agreement, Lutnick said, tied the hands of future administrations by mandating annual payments whenever Natcast met certain milestones, while limiting the government’s ability to terminate the deal.
“These actions do not just give the appearance of impropriety; they flout federal law,” Lutnick wrote in his letter to Natcast’s leadership.
Biden-Era Officials Linked to Natcast
The Commerce Department detailed that Natcast’s leadership included numerous former Biden officials.
The selection committee that formed Natcast included Jason Matheny, who served in the Biden White House, Don Rosenberg, a venture capitalist whose firms received over $100 million in federal grants, and Brenda Wilkerson, an advocate for social justice in technology.
“Rather than establishing these operations within the Department, Biden Administration officials spent significant time, effort, and resources creating an unaccountable, outside entity,” Lutnick said.
Return of Accountability, Says Lutnick
Lutnick emphasized that the decision restores accountability and ensures compliance with the CHIPS Act. “Ending this illegal relationship will ensure efficient use of taxpayer funds and continued American leadership in the semiconductor industry,” he wrote.
The move is part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to dismantle what it calls “illegal backroom arrangements” created in the final days of the Biden presidency.
