Clean energy programs are threatened by Trump’s budget plan

President Donald Trump is asking Congress for deep cuts to renewable energy and climate programs in his fiscal-year 2026 budget. The proposal would eliminate $15 billion in funding from the Department of Energy’s bipartisan infrastructure law, cut $2.6 billion from its Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy office, and $80 million in Interior Department renewable energy programs, decimating climate and environmental spending.

The federal cuts reflect Trump’s broader strategy to prioritize fossil fuel production over clean energy investments like wind and solar, and scale back efforts to fight climate change.

“President Trump is committed to eliminating funding for the globalist climate agenda while unleashing American energy production,” according to a White House fact sheet titled “Ending the Green New Scam.”

The White House’s “skinny” budget plan will be a focal point of government funding talks as House Republicans move toward passing a reconciliation bill that aligns with Trump’s sweeping agenda. Congressional Republicans had hoped to pass their tax and spending package by Memorial Day, but now may be targeting a Fourth of July deadline to pass Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” through the budget reconciliation process, which cannot be filibustered.

Following the passage of a six-month funding bill or “continuing resolution” in March, Congress has until September 30 to complete the appropriations and spending process to avoid a government shutdown. Unlike the budget process, this funding bill must secure 60 votes in the Senate to overcome the filibuster. That means that despite the Republican majority, it will need considerable support from Democrats, which could be hard to come by. 

However, if the budget doesn’t align with President Trump’s policy priorities for 2025, the administration could rely on a process called rescission to sidestep Congress’s funding decisions and withhold funds already approved by Congress.

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Republicans are eyeing more than $4.5 trillion in Trump tax cuts overall to fund their budget bill, which includes gutting clean energy funding under the Inflation Reduction Act. How significant the cuts to energy initiatives will ultimately turn out to be remains uncertain, as some Republicans are in favor of preserving IRA tax incentives, which benefit red districts and states the most, according to E2 analysis.

A repeal of the federal solar tax credit, for instance, would harm constituents by impacting potential rooftop solar customers and installers in red states where interest in solar is growing. 

Just last week, 38 conservative lawmakers renewed their call for a full repeal of the climate law in a letter to the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Whether Republican lawmakers are willing to lose the IRA investments in their districts—which have created more than 80,000 jobs—in order to advance Trump’s national agenda remains to be seen, but the potential clean energy rollbacks will have significant implications. 

From accelerating climate change to undermining economic growth, Trump’s renewable energy budget cuts may come at a large cost.