Al Drago/Bloomberg
A $400 billion green bank for clean energy project and a popular consumer tax credit for electric vehicles are among federal programs being scrutinized amid a broader order from the Trump administration for a government-wide spending freeze.
The initiatives are listed in a 52-page spreadsheet from the White House Office of Management and Budget, seen by Bloomberg News, that details thousands of programs being analyzed.
The Office of Management and Budget issued the sweeping directive Monday. It’s part of Donald Trump’s aim to overhaul the federal government and align it with his administration’s priorities, which include halting foreign aid, promoting liquefied natural gas exports and shuttering diversity programs. A federal judge in Washington on Tuesday evening temporarily halted the administration from enforcing the directive.
The list under scrutiny includes the Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office, which swelled to $400 billion in financing power under President Joe Biden and his signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act. The lending program has nearly $47 billion in conditional commitments to companies in addition to $60.6 billion in loans and loan guarantees that have been granted, including to California utility PG&E and biofuel maker Calumet.
Also being eyed is a program known as the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, or ARPA-E, which has spent billions funding projects aiming to achieve technological breakthroughs.
“All of this funding under the IRA is at serious risk,” Michael Catanzaro, a former energy adviser during Trump’s first administration, said at an event held Tuesday by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “If you don’t have money already in your pocket and you’re hoping to get money by a grant or you’ve got a conditional commitment by the LPO, anything related to that, you should be very concerned, because you may have to wait a very long time for the Supreme Court to weigh in on this.”
An Energy Department spokesman confirmed Tuesday the agency is conducting a department-wide review of spending “to ensure all activities are consistent with President Trump’s executive orders and priorities.”
A slew of tax credits administered by the Treasury Department also made the list, including a $7,500 credit for the purchase of electric vehicles that has been targeted by Trump. But tax breaks for nuclear power as well as subsidies enjoyed by the oil industry and other sources are also being reviewed.
While Trump’s freeze doesn’t appear to apply to tax credits, the administration could still pursue changes through Treasury Department policies and rules governing their implementation, said Kevin Book, managing director at consulting firm ClearView Energy Partners.
“I think what the review produces may result in further action,” Book said in an interview.
Tens of billions of dollars in grants have been funneled through EPA programs that are targeted for scrutiny. That includes programs for slashing greenhouse gases, funding for zero-emission school buses and an initiative to help pay for the installation of less-polluting equipment at the nation’s ports.
The EPA is a key focus of the review, with the agency having awarded some $69 billion in funding from the IRA and a separate infrastructure law before Trump took office.
Firefighting programs at the Department of Agriculture, programs worth billions to shore up the U.S. electric grid and several climate research programs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are also identified on the list.
