WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Trump’s nominee to serve as Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Dr. Arvind Raman, faced a bipartisan grilling from members of the Commerce Committee, including Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), over actions by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to undermine the CHIPS and Science Act and Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program that helps small and medium-sized manufacturers across the country adopt advanced technologies. The United States lost 108,000 manufacturing jobs in the first year of President Trump’s second term.

“NIST also administers the bipartisan CHIPS and Science investment to promote enduring global leadership in semiconductors. This includes $[11] billion for R&D to help reshore semiconductor manufacturing, train the semiconductor workforce, bridge the ‘lab-to-fab’ gap to accelerate innovation across the ecosystem, and semiconductor innovation is the foundation of who will win the future in AI and quantum computing and other critical technologies,” Sen. Cantwell said.  “Last year, the Secretary abruptly canceled $7.4 billion R&D investment in a nonprofit called Natcast under questionable circumstances. Natcast...was charged with operating the National Semiconductor Technology Center, which Congress required by law to operate as a public-private consortium to better integrate R&D and workforce across the semiconductor ecosystem.”

Sen. Cantwell noted that the Commerce Department and NIST have refused to provide details on how it will fulfill the requirements of the bipartisan law and said the next director “must address this lack of transparency immediately.”

The Senator then turned to the widely supported MEP program which operates as a national network of go-to experts that help manufacturers increase productivity and adopt advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence. Even as the Trump Administration claims increasing domestic manufacturing as a top priority, Sec. Lutnick abruptly stopped funding MEP centers, forcing layoffs and crippling a program that serves more than 600,000 manufacturers. In December 2025, Sen. Cantwell led a letter with 28 Democratic colleagues demanding answers from the Administration on its actions.

Under questioning from Sen. Cantwell and other members, Raman failed to satisfy their concerns, refusing to directly answer if he would support the MEP and follow the law as Congress intended.  

CLICK HERE TO WATCH 

Here is part of Sen. Cantwell’s exchange with Dr. Raman:

Sen. Cantwell: Will you support the Manufacturing Extension Programs that are in law and under NIST?

Raman: Senator, thank you for that question. I am fully committed to this Administration's priorities to reindustrialize America, bring manufacturing back. You know, just as you've been very supportive of this, Senator. At Purdue, we've done a lot within our state of Indiana for this as well. It's the state with the highest concentration of manufacturing jobs, and so this is very near and dear to us. That being said, I am aware that there have been some IG concerns regarding the, you know, Extension Program.

Sen. Cantwell: I got one more question, and I only have a few seconds left, but just tell me, do you support the Manufacturing Extension Program?

Raman: Senator, I don't know. I mean, I don't know the specifics of, you know, your comments earlier about, you know, what has happened? What has not happened? But I'm... supportive of manufacturing.

Sen. Cantwell: You think it's a good idea to have a program at NIST -- that you'll be in charge of -- that is called Manufacturing Extension?

Raman: I mean, I'm very supportive of whatever we can do to make sure advanced manufacturing moves ahead here in America in whatever way possible. I just don't know the specifics…

Sen. Cantwell: We'll have to get a crisper answer for the record from you. Okay…if confirmed, will you commit to determining the impact of the agency's policy on CHIPS and Science and giving us a full accounting of how we're going to meet the goals of the CHIPS and Science Act that you're responsible for?

Raman: Thank you for that question, Senator. Again, as I said in my remarks, the entire AI tech stack, advancing America's leadership in chips, both in manufacturing and at the critical edge of next-generation chips, will be a high priority for us, and I intend to work with this Committee and Congress to make sure whatever resources you provide that we use it most effectively to make that happen.

Sen. Cantwell: Okay, so we'll ask for -- this is like an accounting -- because we're not getting that out of the current Administration. And then the last point is just on this equity stipulation as part of this broad agency announcement that stipulates that applicants may be required to issue the Department equity warrants, licenses to the intellectual property, royalty and revenue sharing.

Raman: Again, Senator, I don't know the details, the specifics of this.

Sen. Cantwell: Okay, so read a little more about -- read a little bit more about that and give us an answer.  Again -- you're going to head this organization. We want to hear your views about those policies, because they're pretty big policies. We think the agency is making some pretty big mistakes.

Video of Sen. Cantwell’s opening statement is HERE and a full transcript is HERE

Video of Sen. Cantwell’s Q and A is HERE

###