Trump wants full repeal of clean energy credits in his 'big, beautiful bill'

President Trump is urging congressional Republicans to fully repeal clean energy tax credits in his “big, beautiful bill,” taking conservatives’ side in an internal GOP conflict. 

The clean energy tax credits, many of which were created or expanded as part of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, have been a point of tension for congressional Republicans as they craft the massive budget reconciliation package carrying Mr. Trump’s legislative agenda. 

Fiscal conservatives have pushed to fully repeal the credits and quickly, while more centrist Republicans want to retain some of the tax breaks and phase others out over a slower period of time. 

Mr. Trump on Saturday decided to take a side, and he believes the credits need to go. 

“I HATE ‘GREEN TAX CREDITS’ IN THE GREAT, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL,” the president posted on social media. “They are largely a giant SCAM.”

Mr. Trump said he would prefer the federal dollars being spent on the tax subsidies “be used somewhere else, including [deficit] reductions.”

“Windmills, and the rest of this ‘JUNK,’ are the most expensive and inefficient energy in the world,” he said. 

The president said none of the green energy technologies – “almost exclusively made in China” – work without massive government subsidies. 

“It is time to break away, finally, from this craziness!!!” Mr. Trump said.

Neither the House nor Senate versions of the “big, beautiful bill” fully repeal all of Mr. Biden’s clean energy credits. Many are phased out, although more quickly in the House-passed version of the bill than in the Senate’s draft. 

The House used a stricter deadline, requiring most clean energy projects to be “placed in service” by certain dates if they are to qualify for the subsidies. The Senate lowered the standard to a “commence construction” deadline for many projects, which effectively extends their credit-qualifying lifespan by years.

Conservative Republicans in both chambers amplified Mr. Trump’s social media post to emphasize their support for fully repealing the clean energy credits. 

House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris posted that he 100% agrees with Mr. Trump. 

“We should never allow foreign owned offshore wind companies to control our energy supply — much less harm our marine life while doing it,” he said. 

Sen. Josh Hawley, Missouri Republican, said the president is “100% correct.” 

“Get rid of the Green New Scam credits, protect rural hospitals,” he said, referring to a priority of his that has yet to be included in the measure. “And let’s PASS THIS BILL.”

Alex Epstein, an outside energy expert who has conducted research on the clean energy credits and advises politicians, spoke to Senate Republicans this week and argued for the use of the “placed in service” standard if lawmakers want to see the IRA subsidies end during Mr. Trump’s presidency. 

Mr. Trump, 79, campaigned on terminating the “Green New Scam,” as he’s dubbed the IRA. 

But in a “best-case scenario,” the Senate’s proposal would keep wind subsidies in place through the president’s 94th birthday, Mr. Epstein said. 

“The more likely scenario is the subsidies continue forever because their expiration has been delayed until after the Trump administration,” he said. 

Fully repealing the clean energy credits, as Mr. Trump is requesting, will not be an easy task, given several have support from Republicans whose constituencies have benefited from projects the subsidies helped fund.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, Iowa Republican, posted on social media, without directly referencing Mr. Trump’s post, that his state gets 60% of its electricity from wind energy. 

“It’s an important tool for America’s energy independence [and to] keep Iowans’ utility bills low,” he said.