Biden Celebrates Giant Semiconductor Project

President Joe Biden flies Tuesday to Arizona to celebrate the mammoth expansion of a Taiwanese semiconductor plant, citing the project as proof that the United States is finally breaking dangerous dependency on foreign manufacturers for the vital component.

The White House announced that TSMC is unveiling plans to build a second facility in Phoenix by 2026, ballooning its investment from $12 billion to $40 billion.

The "major milestone" adds up to "the largest foreign direct investment in Arizona history and it's one of the largest in US history," White House National Economic Council Director Brian Deese told reporters.

Biden will speak at the TSMC site, accompanied by senior political figures and titans of the corporate world, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, TSMC's founder Morris Chang and Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra.

The Democrat will seek to take credit for the investment influx, pointing to the effect of his signature CHIPS Act, which sets aside almost $53 billion for subsidies and research in the semiconductors sector. It's a message he'll be especially keen to spread in Arizona, which was long a Republican dominated state but has turned into a battleground where Democrats do increasingly well.