'How come I can’t breathe?': Musk's data company draws a backlash in Memphis

6 May 2025 at 22:32

The company’s turbines — enough to power 280,000 homes — run without emission controls in an area that leads Tennessee in asthma hospitalizations.

GOP may be closer than ever to enacting a massive rule-busting bill

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Andres Picon

5 May 2025 at 16:45

"For those who say it would make a radical change ... I’d say, ‘Thank heaven above for that,’” says Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee.

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Mike Lee (R-Utah) is one of the prime architects of the attempt to pass the rulemaking overhaul, based on a long-sought conservative proposal called the "REINS Act."

Trump threatens ‘secondary sanctions’ on importers of Iranian oil

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Gregory Svirnovskiy

2 May 2025 at 05:16

China is a major consumer of Iranian crude oil, with imports reaching a record 1.8 million barrels per day in March.

President Donald Trump has made clinching a deal to halt Iran’s nuclear development program a central part of his foreign policy portfolio.

FEMA cleared of punishing pro-Trump hurricane victims

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Thomas Frank

29 April 2025 at 22:35

A recent investigation found "no evidence" that the Federal Emergency Management Agency under Joe Biden deliberately avoided helping homes in Florida that backed Donald Trump.

Deanne Criswell, then the head of FEMA, testifies before Congress on April 18, 2023.

Rubio eliminates office that oversees climate talks

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Sara Schonhardt

25 April 2025 at 06:00

The Office of Global Change was notified Thursday that it would be shuttered.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio (center) meets with President Donald Trump and other administration officials Thursday.

Trump-appointed National Science Foundation leader resigns

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Corbin Hiar

25 April 2025 at 05:47

Sethuraman Panchanathan has left the scientific research funding agency amid widespread layoffs and canceled grants.

National Science Foundation Director Sethuraman Panchanathan on Capitol Hill on April 13, 2021.

White House debates lifting sanctions on Russian energy assets, Nord Stream

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Ben Lefebvre and Felicia Schwartz

24 April 2025 at 08:00

The debate pits Steve Witkoff against State Department and U.S. energy export proponents.

Special Envoy Steve Witkoff (left) listens to Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a diplomatic meeting at the Elysée presidential palace in Paris on April 17, 2025.

Quest to retake $20B in climate money puts Trump agencies at ‘significant’ risk, attorney warned

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Alex Guillén

24 April 2025 at 07:17

The Trump administration's effort to regain control of $20 billion in already-distributed funding could expose the agency to billions in damages, a career lawyer wrote in an internal message obtained by POLITICO.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has spent more than two months demanding that his agency regain control of $20 billion in climate grants that the Biden administration awarded last year.

Natural Resources plans May 6 markup of its portion of GOP megabill

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Josh Siegel

24 April 2025 at 02:28

The Natural Resources Committee's portion of the party's megabill is expected to expand oil and gas lease sales on federal lands and waters and develop new mines for critical minerals.

House Natural Resources Committee Chair Bruce Westerman sits for a portrait in the committee’s hearing room on Capitol Hill on March 14, 2025.

Elon Musk bankrolled a $100M climate contest. Now critics say it's ‘tainted.’

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Corbin Hiar

24 April 2025 at 01:46

The billionaire funded an XPrize for carbon removal. But he won't be at the ceremony announcing the winner Wednesday.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk went from an environmental hero to a MAGA hardliner.

‘Crazy’: Forest Service cuts ignite fear, fury over wildfire risks

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Jordan Wolman and Natalie Fertig

23 April 2025 at 22:00

The Trump administration has slashed more than 10 percent of the agency’s workforce, with more layoffs expected.

U.S. Forest Service firefighters prepare to battle the Caldor Fire on August 31, 2021 in Meyers, California.

White House says it’s not targeting green groups’ tax status

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Robin Bravender

23 April 2025 at 05:08

The comments follow speculation that the Trump administration would seek to revoke environmental groups’ tax-exempt status.

President Donald Trump arrives to speak in the Rose Garden of the White House on April 2.

White House asked FERC’s Phillips to step down

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Catherine Morehouse

23 April 2025 at 00:01

His exit from the commission will leave a 2-2 partisan split, and allow President Donald Trump to tap a replacement commissioner.

Willie Phillips, chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, speaks last year on Capitol Hill.

Burgum rues ‘war on mining’ ahead of tariff negotiations with China

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Gregory Svirnovskiy

21 April 2025 at 01:16

Still, there's no one better than the commander in chief to bring Beijing to the negotiation table, the Interior secretary said.

"Under President Trump, it's not just drill, baby, drill, it's going to be map, baby, map, which is we've got these materials in our country, but then also mine, baby, mine," Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said.

World Bank climate message shifts amid Trump era uncertainty

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Sara Schonhardt and Zack Colman

20 April 2025 at 22:00

The bank’s messaging on climate represents a delicate balancing act between the institution and the U.S., its largest shareholder.

The bank’s climate work is occurring as several of the Trump administration’s allies want the U.S. to exit the World Bank entirely.

Federal judge orders immediate thaw of climate, infrastructure funds

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Alex Guillén

16 April 2025 at 06:34

President Donald Trump does not have "unfettered power to hamstring in perpetuity" duly passed funding laws, the judge ruled.

A federal judge has ordered a mass unfreezing of federal grants, including $1 million for urban forestry work in the Woonasquatucket River watershed in Rhode Island.

Trump's EPA wages war over $20B in 'gold bars'

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Jean Chemnick

15 April 2025 at 19:26

The Biden EPA handed out billions of dollars to bring clean energy technologies to lower-income communities. The Trump administration is trying to take it back.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin (left) looks on as President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order in the White House on Tuesday.

Trump's economic tumult tests the oil industry's patience

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Ben Lefebvre

15 April 2025 at 05:07

The president's trade war has unnerved investors and executives — and could undermine his pledge to unleash "energy dominance."

Energy Secretary Chris Wright, left, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, right, head back into the West Wing after speaking to reporters at the White House in Washington, on March 19, 2025. Burgum and Wright met with President Donald Trump and executives from the oil and gas industries at the White House.

White House outlines plan to gut NOAA, smother climate research

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Daniel Cusick， Chelsea Harvey and Scott Waldman

12 April 2025 at 02:08

The agency’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research would be “eliminated as a line office,” according to a memo from the Office of Management and Budget.

Clouds drift over North America in this 2024 satellite image provided by NOAA.

Trump pick to lead Interior’s land management agency withdraws nomination

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Ben Lefebvre

10 April 2025 at 23:47

Kathleen Sgamma's withdrawal comes after a 4-year-old memo resurfaced showing she criticized President Donald Trump's role in the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.

Kathleen Sgamma on Capitol Hill on April 27, 2021.

Trump moves to hobble major US climate change study

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Zack Colman

9 April 2025 at 22:27

The cuts are a potentially fatal blow to the National Climate Assessment that Congress mandated to ensure the government understands the threats posed by rising temperatures.

The Trump administration is canceling a major contract supporting the U.S. Global Change Research Program, imperiling the National Climate Assessment produced roughly every four years.

Trump’s new goal: Revive a major climate pollutant that power markets have turned against

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Josh Siegel， Catherine Morehouse and Alex Guillén

9 April 2025 at 04:35

But even coal-friendly Republicans and executives say it won’t revive the industry to its former glory.

President Donald Trump has been a vocal coal supporter since his initial 2016 presidential campaign.

Noem offers buyouts to DHS workers

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Thomas Frank

8 April 2025 at 08:24

The Homeland Security secretary outlined "workforce transition programs" in an email Monday evening.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem offered buyouts to thousands of people in her department.

From pro-climate Republican to ‘one of the Trump disruptors’

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Hannah Northey， Emily Ngo， Josh Siegel and Miranda Willson

7 April 2025 at 04:00

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin's attacks on his agency's spending and regulations have made him a rising star in the Trump Cabinet, but left some former colleagues mystified.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin attends a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Feb. 26.

Judge hammers EPA over lack of proof of wrongdoing in terminating $20B in climate grants

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Alex Guillén

3 April 2025 at 04:30

"Here we are, weeks in, and you're still unable to proffer me any information with regard to any kind of investigation or malfeasance," U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said on Wednesday that EPA has "gotta comply with the law" if it wants to terminate $20 billion in climate grants.

Tesla lurches as Musk hits the gas for Trump

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Scott Waldman

3 April 2025 at 02:26

Dreadful sales numbers are just the latest sign of the EV manufacturer's "crisis tornado."

A protester holds a sign outside a Tesla showroom in Seattle on Feb. 13.

Lawmakers and industry groups blast away at DOE project kill list

Politico | Energy & Environment

By James Bikales， Josh Siegel， Kelsey Tamborrino and Ben Lefebvre

29 March 2025 at 19:01

Draft lists of potential cuts have been rocketing around Capitol Hill this week, and lawmakers from both parties are working to save their projects.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright speaks to reporters outside of the West Wing of the White House on March 19.

Trump admin considers killing big energy projects in Dem states

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Zack Colman， Ben Lefebvre， Kelsey Tamborrino and James Bikales

26 March 2025 at 17:00

The cuts, if carried through, would politicize the federal funds that Congress and the Biden administration awarded to seven regional applicants as part of the bipartisan infrastructure law.

Climate groups could beat Trump in fight for $20B. It may be too late.

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Zack Colman

24 March 2025 at 02:00

The controversy over $20 billion of climate grants is stalling projects across the country and could force cancellation of projects designed to help people lower their energy costs.

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