Trump Voids Billions in Funding to Raimondo Project, Prominent RI Attorney at the Center of Fight

Trump Voids Billions in Funding to Raimondo Project, Prominent RI Attorney at the Center of Fight

One of now former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo’s legacies was the funding of billions of dollars to a non-profit called Natcast.

Now, the Trump administration is cancelling the funding of $7.4 billion to Natcast and calling it illegal.

The organization says, "Natcast is a purpose-built, non-profit entity designated to operate the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC) by the Department of Commerce."

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Raimondo called Natcast, “A robust research and development ecosystem is essential to ensuring the United States is a global leader in semiconductor innovation,” and she poured billions into the organization —  an organization stacked with former Raimondo staffers.

But in a letter issued by Raimondo’s successor, Howard Lutnick, on Monday, the Trump administration is demanding the money back.

In the middle of the fight is long-time Raimondo lawyer Jeremy Licht. He served in top positions for Raimondo both while she was Governor of Rhode Island and in the Commerce Department.

His bio states, "Before joining the federal government, Licht served as Director of Rhode Island’s Pandemic Recovery Office, where he oversaw legal and compliance matters for the use of federal COVID relief funding, and as General Counsel to the Rhode Island Executive Office of Commerce, where he led the implementation of a suite of economic incentive programs to support construction, job creation, and infrastructure."

Licht, however, was known as Raimondo's go-to lawyer when she was Governor.

He went directly from the Commerce Department to work for Natcast. Today, he serves as Natcast’s General Counsel. Efforts to reach Licht for comment on the article were unsuccessful.

He is the son of former Rhode Island Lt. Governor and now Superior Court Judge Richard Licht.

 

Agreement Void

In Lutnick’s letter on Monday to Natcast, he wrote that the agreement between Raimondo’s Commerce Department and Natcast is void:

The Biden Administration established Natcast to manage and disburse up to $7.4 billion in taxpayer funds that Congress appropriated for the promotion of semiconductor research and development under the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 (the "CHIPS Act"), codified, as amended, at 15 U.S.C. § 4651 et seq. Upon consultation with the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel, the Department of Commerce ("Department") has determined that, because Natcast was established in violation of federal law, the agreement it purported to enter during the final week of the Biden Administration is void ab initio and therefore has no legal force or effect. As a result, the Department will not abide by its terms.

The letter also asserts that Natcast has been stacked with former Biden and Raimondo staffers.

"What is more, the Biden Administration stacked Natcast full of former Biden officials. The majority of Natcast's executives, and many of its trustees, previously held formal positions either within the Department itself or as members of an Independent Advisor Committee advising the Department during the Biden Administration. That list includes Donna L. Dubinsky, the former Senior Counselor to the Secretary of Commerce for CHIPS Implementation who signed Natcast's articles of incorporation as a private 50l(c)(3) organization, as well as yourself, a former leader of the Department's Industrial Advisory Committee under the CHIPS Act and now the CEO of Natcast," wrote Lutnick.

 

Claims of Illegality

The letter also claims the very creation of Natcast was illegal, as it was not authorized by Congress.

“In sum, the Biden Administration's creation of Natcast for the purpose of operating the NSTC violated the lawful limits on the federal government's authority imposed by the [Government Corporation Control Act]. For that same reason, the Biden Administration had no authority to enter into the last-minute agreement with Natcast to cement their illegal arrangement,” wrote Lutnick.

In closing, Lutnick wrote, “Ending this illegal relationship will ensure efficient use of taxpayer funds and continued American leadership in the semiconductor industry, and it will return responsibility- and accountability- for faithfully executing the CHIPS Act to the Department, as Congress intended.”

This story was first published 8/26/25 6:20 AM