How $600B of Biden’s clean energy funding escaped Trump’s cuts
By Aoife Gallagher ·
The sheer theatricality of it is breathtaking.
The Illusion of the Slash Mark
The sheer theatricality of it is breathtaking. One reads reports detailing how the Trump administration attempted to slash over $540 billion in clean-energy tax breaks while simultaneously targeting roughly $60 billion out of a nearly $1 trillion in direct spending components, and you realize this isn't about fiscal prudence; it’s about spite. The narrative presented by outlets like notus.org—that the cancellation of grants for projects in Democratic-led states like Minnesota or Hawaii is an act of governance—is patently false. It is a political cudgel wielded against infrastructure that, frankly, small nations and working people need to survive.
The Persistence of Institutional Muscle
Despite the noise emanating from Washington, the underlying reality remains stubbornly resilient. According to analyses published by primexbt.com and cryptobriefing.com, roughly $600 billion in congressionally approved clean energy spending is still sitting on the table, largely intact. The Department of Energy reviewed its funding awards, maintaining or restoring them in most cases, while the two foundational pieces of legislation—the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act—continue to direct around $350 billion toward climate initiatives. This isn't charity; it is law, and laws have a weight that mere executive fiat simply cannot dismiss.
When Grand Ambition Becomes Political Battleground
What we are watching unfold in America is not unique. We know this mechanism well. The struggle to fund massive, ambitious federal spending designed to solve systemic societal problems—the very pattern seen when Lyndon B. Johnson launched the Great Society Programs—is a historical constant. In both cases, core funding components prove remarkably difficult to eliminate entirely, even when powerful political forces attempt drastic reductions. The sheer scale of the infrastructure needed for modern life, whether it’s clean energy grids or social welfare systems, means that once established by consensus and law, those pillars resist being pulled down by partisan whim.
The administration's attempts at targeted cuts—the canceling of grants in blue states while leaving similar projects intact in Republican-led areas—are nothing more than a desperate performance designed to distract from the fact that the foundational rules are holding fast. The power structure cannot simply decree away the necessity of modern infrastructure, nor can it erase the promise made by Congress through law.
The truth is that solidarity and sovereignty, whether for small nations navigating great powers or for communities needing reliable grids, are not opposites; they are mutually dependent. When the big capitals try to dismantle foundational programs—whether clean energy hubs in California, as noted on notus.org, or social safety nets across Europe—they always underestimate the enduring strength of the rule of law and the collective will that insists on keeping the promise alive.