The first few days of the American Duce sequel have been intense.
While journalists and pundits have rightly focused on the Felon-in-Chief pardons of the over 1500 domestic terrorists, the declaration of a national security emergency on the Southern Border complete with giving I.C.E. new Gestapo guidelines, restricting what information his health agencies can publicly release, setting the groundwork to increase senior prescription drug prices, and doing away with anything that can be construed as promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (only in White Nationalist MAGA world would those be bad words) including rescinding a 1965 Lyndon Johnson Executive Order on fair hiring practices, Mr. Trump has also started to wage war on the Biden/Harris Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act with an Executive Order to do away with what he claims is the “The Green New Deal.”
Having already decided to withdraw again from the Paris Climate Accord, Mr. Trump, as reported by news outlets like the New York Times and Politico, is now laying the groundwork to sabotage two popular laws to satisfy his fossil fuel donors, reinforce his opposition to all things clean energy, and eagerness to do away with legislation that Biden achieved that he could not do himself during his first time in the job.
The exact passage in question from Mr. Trump’s Executive Order is:
“Sec. 7. Terminating the Green New Deal. (a) All agencies shall immediately pause the disbursement of funds appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-169) or the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-58), including but not limited to funds for electric vehicle charging stations made available through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program and the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program, and shall review their processes, policies, and programs for issuing grants, loans, contracts, or any other financial disbursements of such appropriated funds for consistency with the law and the policy outlined in section 2 of this order. Within 90 days of the date of this order, all agency heads shall submit a report to the Director of the NEC and Director of OMB that details the findings of this review, including recommendations to enhance their alignment with the policy set forth in section 2. No funds identified in this subsection (a) shall be disbursed by a given agency until the Director of OMB and Assistant to the President for Economic Policy have determined that such disbursements are consistent with any review recommendations they have chosen to adopt.”
If successful, the Trump/Vance Administration, in addition to his attempts to turn back the clock on providing cleaner air, water, and land, would also deny funding for approved projects in:
- Road expansion and repair.
- Bridge expansion and repair.
- Airport expansion and repair.
- Modern railways
- Replacing harmful lead water pipes with clean ones.
- Modernizing the electric grid.
- The expansion of the Internet into Rural Communities.
- Cleaning up polluted areas and securing abandoned mines.
Wonder what Trump’s new friends in the Tech Industrial Complex, especially Elon Musk and Tesla, are thinking about this.
Quick to react, Arizona Representative and former Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, at a House Congressional Hearing, voiced concern that the wording of the Executive Order could “Taken at face value, put Bipartisan Infrastructure Dollars at risk…Without clarification, we do not know the true impact of this order, or what it means for ongoing funding for Bipartisan Infrastructure Dollars…Too much ambiguity. Too much uncertainty around the disbursement of these dollars that this Congress voted for in a bipartisan way. And that uncertainty, that ambiguity is unacceptable to the members of this committee and to the American People.”
Please watch the full video clip below:
Earlier, Stanton had posted his concerns about what this order could mean to Arizona Projects like the approved funding for the I-10 Expansion and expansions at Sky Harbor and Mesa Gateway Airport. He sent a letter to the Acting Head of the Transportation Department. He has not received that clarification.
Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego posted:
Kate deGruyter, the Senior Communications lead at Third Way, voiced concerns about what the Trump Executive Order would mean for American Infrastructure, Jobs, Economic Competitiveness, and National Security, commenting:
“After Donald Trump failed to make infrastructure a priority, Democrats delivered long-overdue investments to repair America’s roads and bridges and strengthen American manufacturing. But Trump’s actions to revoke federal funds — including for investments already underway — means American businesses and families will suffer as many of these projects are in red states and districts eager for an economic boost. Foreign adversaries are cleaning our clocks on developing cutting-edge technologies to deliver the abundant, affordable power Americans need. Instead of giving American companies and workers a competitive advantage in all of the clean technologies of the future, Trump is handing global competitors the upper hand while he focuses on the wrong solutions to our energy problems. Abundant US energy production should be at the heart of our foreign policy and security strategy, not just from fossil fuels but also from nuclear, wind, and solar.”
The legal question moving forward, as reported by Politico is does the Trump/Vance Administration have the authority to default on approved federal contracts and withhold funds from the already approved projects. According to Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley, Trump does not have the legal power to deny the funding, saying:
“The law is very clear that he has to do what has been passed by Congress. He is not a king. … I call on him to abide by the law.”
House Representative Frank Pallone added:
“Congress passed landmark infrastructure and climate investments, and now President Trump is attempting to illegally withhold that money from American businesses, communities, and workers. While Trump has a long history of stiffing contractors who worked on his failed business ventures, the American government must uphold its commitments.”
Expect a lot of lawsuits if Trump tries to undo the approved funds going forward. Also, expect him to try and pick and choose where to disburse the monies. Do not be surprised if he tries to placate his Congressional allies by sending funding to their districts and ignoring everyone else, dragging it out through the courts which is his true strength.
Leaders in Blue and Purple States may want to get on Mr. Trump’s good side and considerable ego by inviting him to ground openings where they can sing his praises for approving funding for the project. That seems to work.
Stay tuned.
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