Even in the most bipartisan moments in today’s politics, bipartisanship can be awkward. That was abundantly clear at an event in rural Texas this week where Democrats and Republicans both made essential contributions to pave the way for tech giant Samsung to build a massive semiconductor processing hub in Williamson County. The project is expected to produce 20,000 jobs and give rise to the state’s growing footprint in an industry that powers every phone, computer and automobile in America.
Biden gives Samsung $6.4 billion for Texas chip plant Yet despite being touted as a bipartisan transformational moment for the Texas economy, Republicans largely stayed away from the event, which looked like a campaign rally for Democrats with dozens of blue signs all over the stage proclaiming the project was “funded by President Joe Biden’s CHIPS and Science Act.
How a $2 billion federal project is bringing Horns and Aggies, Biden and Abbott together U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican who led the fight to pass the CHIPS and Science Act in the Senate, also missed the festivities celebrating the $6.4 billion federal investment in Samsung. The event was held on a Monday when the U.S. Senate was in session leaving Cornyn to mail in a pre-taped recording of his support for the project. Meanwhile, U.S. Rep.