President Trump promised to lower costs for American families. One area where his administration and Congress have an opportunity to deliver is hiding in plain sight: semiconductors.

Most Americans do not spend much time thinking about computer chips. But modern life runs on them.

The smartphone in your pocket. The car in your driveway. Your laptop, television, refrigerator, medical devices, and home appliances all depend on semiconductors. Increasingly, so does nearly every part of the American economy. And now, because of America’s artificial intelligence dominance, those same chips are being consumed at unprecedented levels.

To be clear, America leading the world in AI development is a good thing. We should want AI companies building here in the United States, not overseas. The economic and national security stakes are simply too high to surrender leadership to China. (RELATED: Chinese Tech Giant Announces New Chip Design Breakthrough)

But policymakers also need to recognize that the extraordinary demand for semiconductors powering AI infrastructure is colliding with the limited supply of chips needed for everyday consumer products.

A single advanced AI data center can require enormous quantities of high-performance semiconductors. As AI investment accelerates, more chip capacity is being pulled toward hyperscale computing and away from the broader consumer economy.

That matters for American families.

When chip supply tightens, prices rise throughout the economy. Cars become more expensive. Electronics and appliances cost more. Manufacturers face delays. Supply chains become less reliable. These costs are ultimately passed on to the consumer.

Americans learned during the pandemic what happens when semiconductor shortages ripple through the economy. Empty car lots and soaring vehicle prices were not theoretical problems. We should not repeat that mistake simply because Washington failed to anticipate how rapidly AI demand would scale.

Unfortunately, federal policymaking has not kept pace, and an attempt to reverse the chip shortage under President Biden significantly underperformed.

The CHIPS Act of 2022 was intended to strengthen domestic semiconductor manufacturing and reduce America’s dependence on foreign supply chains. Those goals were correct. The United States does need dramatically more chip production capacity. (RELATED: California Town Bans Data Centers Permanently In Landslide Ballot Measure)

But the implementation of the CHIPS Act has been bureaucratic, disconnected from the realities of the marketplace, and antithetical to the bill’s intent.

Too much emphasis was placed on political priorities and regulatory process. Hardly any emphasis was placed on rapidly ramping up production, streamlining permitting, expanding energy availability, and ensuring that America’s semiconductor supply can keep up with both AI growth and consumer demand.

That needs to change.

America does not have to choose between winning the AI race and protecting consumers from rising costs. We can do both. But doing both requires much more aggressive action from Washington to expand domestic semiconductor production.

President Trump and Congress should use every available tool to facilitate and accelerate chip manufacturing in the United States.

That means faster permitting for fabrication facilities and energy infrastructure. It means reducing unnecessary regulatory barriers that slow construction and chill investment. It means targeting incentives toward actual production growth and supply-chain resilience. And it means recognizing semiconductor manufacturing as critical to America’s economic security, national security, and consumer affordability.

The solution to rising chip demand — and the rising costs of goods resulting from the chip shortage — is not less innovation. It is more American production.

If the United States fails to expand semiconductor capacity fast enough, the consequences will not be confined to Silicon Valley. Families across the country will feel it in the prices they pay for the products they rely on every day. (RELATED: Trump Announces Massive Deal For Japanese Data Center In Ohio)

That is why semiconductor policy can no longer be treated as a niche technology issue. It is now a kitchen-table economic issue.

America should continue building the future of artificial intelligence. But we should also ensure that the benefits of that growth do not come at the expense of American consumers.

With the right policies, we can strengthen domestic chip manufacturing, maintain AI leadership over China, reduce supply-chain vulnerabilities, and help keep costs down for working families.

That is the opportunity in front of President Trump and Congress now.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller.