House speaker Nancy Pelosi drew a laugh from the crowd on Tuesday as her speech at an event got mixed up with that of president Joe Biden.
On Tuesday, Mr Biden signed a bill to make the CHIPS and Science Act — bipartisan legislation that will inject approximately $50bn into the US semiconductor industry — the law of the land.
He was joined by many House and Senate members who shepherded the legislation.
The bill is meant to boost US competitiveness vis-à-vis China by onshoring the manufacture of semiconductors that go into cars, computers, mobile phones and all manner of devices, through Congress.
When Ms Pelosi arrived at the podium to speak she found the copy of the speech placed on the podium was not hers.
“Let me see what’s…” she was seen saying on a video as she flipped through the pages in front of her.
“The president’s speech is here. I think I have the president’s speech here,” she could be heard saying.
“What’d they do with yours?” the president chimed in as the House speaker laughed along with the crowd.
“I don’t know what they did with it, but I can do without it,” Ms Pelosi said and laughed again.
She was soon handed a copy of her speech from the front row as the crowd lightly applauded.
“Thank you,” said Ms Pelosi.
“That’s helpful,” remarked the president.
Ms Pelosi then began her speech saying:
“Mr president,” Ms Pelosi began and started chuckling again while turning back to look at Mr Biden.
The signing of the CHIPS and Science Act is just the first of several celebratory ceremonies Mr Biden will participate in this week.
On Wednesday, he will sign into law the Honouring Our PACT Act, which authorises yet more funds to treat US military veterans who were exposed to toxic substances during their service and is also expected to be able to sign the Inflation Reduction Act, which will authorise the largest-ever US investment in stopping the climate crisis.
“The United States must lead the world in the production of these advanced chips. This law will do exactly that,” he said.
