WASHINGTON—As a $52 billion bill to bolster semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. approached a critical juncture, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo reached out to some unusual figures to cultivate support in Congress: former Trump administration national security officials.
A member of her security detail told her that H.R. McMaster, national security adviser to former President Donald Trump, praised her on Joe Rogan’s podcast. Ms. Raimondo brought in Mr. McMaster and three other former Trump officials to talk up the importance of semiconductors to national defense alongside Democratic and Republican lawmakers.