The deferred resignation program started at the U.S.Department of Energy(DOE)this week.Sources tell Factor This that about half of the Solar Energy Technologies Office,or anyone with less than ten years of tenure,took the deal offered by the feds and left their posts.
They were getting out ahead of the storm.
President Donald Trump’s 2026 budget plan,unveiled in all its glory on Friday,guts the federal energy agency by billions of dollars,cancels a slew of renewable energy,direct air capture,and electric vehicle(EV)charging projects,and axes anything remotely associated with environmental justice.
The budget plan,which cuts domestic spending for everything but national defense by$163 billion,seeks to slash discretionary spending by 7.6%next year,but includes a 13%increase in national security funding.
What is Getting Cut?
Trump’s plan cancels more than$15.2 billion in bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act(IIJA)funding,designated for renewable energy projects,carbon dioxide removal,and other cleantech.In a document released by the White House,the Trump Administration calls the investments unreliable and costly,mocking renewable energy and EV initiatives and deeming them“scams.”Another$6 billion in IIJA funds designated for EV charging programs and battery makers is also being pulled.
“The Biden Administration spent more than three years implementing these programs,but built only a small number of chargers because it prioritized over-regulating and‘climate justice’goals.EV chargers should be built just like gas stations:with private sector resources disciplined by market forces,”the White House’s summary document reads in part.
Should we build EV charging infrastructure the same way we construct gas stations?Blink CTO Harjinder Bhade believes EV charging lots will never replace gas stations.Here’s the infrastructure we actually need.
The budget pulls U.S.contributions to the Global Environment Facility and the Climate Investment Funds and eliminates$100 million in taxpayer contributions to the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA)Environmental Justice initiative.
“The environmental justice program gave taxpayer dollars to political cronies who exploited the program’s racial preferencing policies to advance an anti-oil and gas crusade,”argues the White House.“The program established an‘Environmental Justice Concern’policy to preference minorities because they are‘especially vulnerable…to climate change because of their limited adaptive capacity.'”
Trump’s plan also eliminates funding for“woke”EPA research grants to Non-Governmental Organizations(NGOs)that advance“a radical climate agenda.”Noncoincidentally,these programs funded the National Resources Defense Council,an enemy to the oil and gas lobby that Trump openly courted throughout his candidacy.The NRDC helped shut down the Keystone XL pipeline.
The plan pulls$1.3 million from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA)grants and research,claiming its educational programs are radicalizing students“against markets and to spread environmental alarmism.”
The DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy(EERE)program stands to lose more than$2.5 billion from its budget for advancing“the destructive Green New Deal agenda.”The Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy(ARPA-E)will see its funding reduced to refocus on“reliable,domestic power,while eliminating funding for technologies favored by the globalist climate agenda.”
“EERE is also responsible for outlandish regulations that drive up costs for American families,like banning gas stoves and incandescent light bulbs.The Budget proposal refocuses spending on research and development,technologies improving baseload power,and bioenergy,”said the White House.
The budget kills another$80 million in renewable energy programs at the Department of the Interior and eliminates conservation programs at the Bureau of Land Management(BLM).$408 million is being cut from the Office of Nuclear Energy’s budget,reducing federal support for“non-essential research on nuclear energy,”and another$270 million from the Office of Fossil Energy.
More Budget Details and Reaction
In all,State Department and international programs would lose about 84%of their money and receive$9.6 billion,a cut that reflects the existing efforts by Presidential-buddy-in-chief Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.The budget shows a desire to crack down on diversity programs and initiatives to address climate change,but doesn’t include details about what Trump wants to do with income taxes,tariffs,entitlement programs,or the budget deficit.That logic flies directly in the face of Trump’s desires for U.S.“energy dominance”and analysts calling for up to 50%load growth by 2030.
It is important to note that budgets are a statement of values and do not become“law.”Rather,the budget will serve as a touchstone for the upcoming fiscal year debates.
“President Trump’s plan ensures every federal taxpayer dollar spent is used to serve the American people,not a bloated bureaucracy or partisan pet projects,”House Speaker Mike Johnson(R-LA)said in reaction to the budget plan.
The other side of the aisle,unshockingly,sees it differently.
“President Trump has made his priorities clear as day:he wants to outright defund programs that help working Americans while he shovels massive tax breaks at billionaires like himself and raises taxes on middle-class Americans with his reckless tariffs,”Senator Patty Murray(D-WA)said.She fears the cuts could ultimately be more extreme than already proposed,noting that the budget doesn’t provide funding levels for programs such as Head Start.
The budget includes a$33.6 billion spending cut to Housing and Urban Development,$33.3 billion to Health and Human Services,and$12 billion to the Education Department.The Defense Department would get an additional$113.3 billion,and Homeland Security would receive$42.3 billion more.
Reporting from the Associated Press was used in this article.
