Trump halts funding for Inflation Reduction Act
TL/DR –
President Donald Trump has suspended all funding disbursements under the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, two laws key to former President Joe Biden’s clean energy agenda. In a memorandum, the White House later clarified that the freeze applies only to funds supporting programs that may be implicated by new policy, and agency heads may disburse funds as necessary after consulting with the Office of Management and Budget. Trump’s executive order also withdraws the US from the Paris Agreement and revokes Biden’s executive order mandating that half of new vehicles sold in the US be electric by 2030.
Trump Suspends Inflation Reduction Act Funding, Setting New Energy Agenda
President Donald Trump halted all Inflation Reduction Act funding disbursements via an executive order on Monday. This also freezes funding for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, previously the cornerstone of Joe Biden’s clean energy strategy.
Federal agencies now have 90 days to provide spending reviews to the Office of Management and Budget and National Economic Council. Yet, a memorandum issued by the White House further explains the funding hold.
It clarifies that the halt applies only to programs potentially affected by the policy established in the order’s Section 2. This section, however, doesn’t specify which parts of the two laws are affected, and instead includes broader language on energy exploration, national security, and eliminating the electric vehicle mandate.
The memo notes that agencies may disburse funds as they see fit after Office of Management and Budget consultation.
These funding pauses are part of a larger “Unleashing American Energy” executive order and signal Trump’s intent to roll back Biden’s climate policies. Trump also withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Agreement as part of his new energy strategy.
This strategy includes reviewing the processes of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program and the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program.
In a critical move, Trump ended the “electric vehicle mandate” set by Biden in 2021, which targeted half of new US vehicles to be electric by 2030. The president has previously criticized the mandate and IRA-provided EV tax credits .
Under Biden, the Energy Department announced 53 deals totaling about $107.57 billion in committed project investment. This included major funding for Qcells’ Georgia solar cell factory and Ford Motor Co.’s joint venture battery factories with SK On.
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