White House climate chief Ali Zaidi has indicated Republicans may not be able to do away with all of the Biden administration’s unspent clean energy funds following the November election.
Hundreds of millions in climate spending from the landmark Inflation Reduction Act face an uncertain fate as former President Donald Trump and Republicans have vowed to do away with the investments. However, the reliability of those promises appears uncertain as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has indicated he may be in favor of keeping some of the clean energy tax credits.
During an America First Policy Institute event held last week, Johnson vowed to “cut the wasteful Green New Deal spending in the Democrats’ so-called Inflation Reduction Act” if the GOP takes the House, Senate, and Oval Office in November. But he has stopped short of promising to repeal the entirety of the 2022 economic and climate law.
“You’ve got to use a scalpel and not a sledgehammer because there’s a few provisions in there that have helped overall,” Johnson told CNBC.
As Johnson has declined to detail what credits and funding he would be in favor of keeping, the White House has said it may be difficult to do away with any of the provisions.
In an interview with Politico, Zaidi insisted that Republicans would actually be criticized if they rescinded funding from the Inflation Reduction Act as many of the investments have been supported by members of the party. For example, Rep. John Curtis (R-UT) told the Hill earlier this month that he would like to see funds remain for projects focused on nuclear energy and carbon capture.
“Republicans have articulated very clearly not just a slowdown agenda on climate but a U-turn agenda on climate, a U-turn agenda on those clean energy factory jobs,” Zaidi said. “People are sensitive to that. And folks realize that the best antidote to all of this, whether it’s the climate anxiety or policy uncertainty, is action, it’s investment, it’s building.”
Zaidi pointed to promises made by the House Republican caucus backing energy security, American energy production, jobs, and American manufacturing. “[Then] these policies that they’re talking about, pulling back on loans to catalyze investment in America’s energy strength, it just doesn’t make any sense,” he said.
Some Republicans have acknowledged the concern regarding repealing certain Inflation Reduction Act provisions. However, they still remain dedicated to rescinding unspent funds designated in the climate law.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) explained to Politico that in her home state, she has seen job creation and investments driven by tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act. However, she said she still wishes to see unspent funds pulled back. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) said he agreed, noting that the move may be “very appealing to swing voters” concerned about overspending.
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With the remaining Inflation Reduction Act funds up in the air, Zaidi said the administration is swiftly looking to secure investments.
“The Biden-Harris administration is focused on sprinting through the next few months, [with a] relentless focus on execution,” Zaidi said. “We’re implementing the largest investment climate in the history of the world and a regulatory agenda that has helped secure public health gains and environmental gains.”