A coalition of Senate Republicans is deeply concerned that President Donald Trump’s recent executive order could undermine the temporary protections for green energy tax credits included in his sweeping tax reform package, the Utah-based Deseret News reported Wednesday.
On Monday, Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to aggressively dismantle clean energy tax incentives. The order instructs the Treasury Department to implement any measures it “deems necessary and appropriate” to end clean electricity production and investment tax credits for wind and solar projects — and to ensure that the definition of “beginning of construction” can't be manipulated — potentially accelerating the phase‑out timeline beyond what the new tax law originally allowed.
Sen. John Curtis (R‑Utah), who helped negotiate a softer phaseout, told the Deseret News, “We’re being thorough and looking into that. And I can say that we’re asking questions to make sure it doesn’t.”
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He emphasized they are monitoring closely to ensure the executive order doesn’t override the congressional compromise.
Pressed on whether he’d push back if the White House moved to accelerate the phase‑out, Curtis told the outlet, “Well, let me just say we fought very hard to get that into reconciliation and that is the will of Congress.”
Senate Republicans from states that benefited from Inflation Reduction Act credits — including Utah, North Carolina and Alaska —are warning that abrupt reversals would disrupt investments in wind, solar, EVs and related industries.
The Treasury Department has yet to clarify whether it will follow the law’s schedule or re-interpret it under the executive order’s broad language. Capitol Hill Democrats, environmental advocates and industry groups are already threatening lawsuits and intensifying lobbying efforts to hold the line, per the report.
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A Reuters report earlier this month quoted analysts as saying that the clean energy rollback in the tax package could retract as much as 300 gigawatts of capacity, threaten hundreds of thousands of jobs and raise electricity bills.
American Clean Power Association CEO Jason Grumet praised the repeal of the excise tax and longer build-out deadlines for new energy projects as “profoundly important," according to a recent Politico report.