In February of 2021, Gelsinger became the Chief Executive Officer of Intel. He promptly made contact with officials from the Biden administration, who were also moving into their new offices about the same time they did. In the early stages of the administration’s efforts to develop and pass the measure that would later be known as the CHIPS and Science Act, he went on to become an important public face of those efforts. He “invested 110% in the Washington side,” Stacy Rasgon of Bernstein Research mentioned in an interview that took place this week.
Gelsinger “even kind of admitted that maybe he was neglecting his other duties to the extent of spending so much time in Washington,” the analyst added. The expert also mentioned that the billions of dollars that will be coming to Intel from Washington in the years to come will be extremely important for the firm as it strives to accomplish its lofty objectives. In October 2021, the CEO had a virtual meeting with Vice President Biden. The following year, in January 2022, he traveled to Washington, DC, where he made the announcement that Intel intends to construct a plant near Columbus, Ohio, that will cost twenty billion dollars. In March of that year, he returned to Washington, DC, in order to take his place in the box reserved for the First Lady during the State of the Union address in 2022.
In the course of that address, Vice President Biden utilized Intel in an effort to advance the CHIPs legislation. He made the announcement that the company’s investment may increase, but with a significant drawback: “all they’re waiting for is for you to pass this bill,” he told the legislators who were gathered together. When negotiations continued to drag on throughout that year, Gelsinger personally added even more pressure by sending out a tweet in July that was widely observed. In the tweet, he stated that the corporation would not begin big development in Ohio until Congress took significant action.
Later on in the summer of that year, the bill was approved and signed into law. Naturally, Gelsinger was there for the event. Additionally, in September of that year, Biden traveled to Ohio to attend the official groundbreaking ceremony for that facility. He uttered the words, “Pat, thank you,” as towering pieces of construction equipment appeared in the background.
