Fight Over ‘Green New Scam’ Complicates Trump’s Plans

“Republicans are split sharply over whether and how to repeal hundreds of billions of dollars in clean-energy tax breaks that Democrats created, marking one of the knottiest unresolved fights over what to put in President Trump’s tax and spending agenda,” the New York Times reports.

“Public and private estimates suggest the IRA’s tax breaks will far exceed the initial estimate of $271 billion over a decade. That indicates the credits’ popularity—and the opportunity to curtail them. The more IRA incentives that Republicans repeal, the more money they generate to pay for extending Trump’s expiring tax cuts and implementing his other priorities.”

“But pulling the plug is proving difficult. The breaks generate jobs and investment, particularly in rural Republican regions where it is easier to locate wind turbines, solar farms and factories. Republicans are sensitive to the argument that businesses shouldn’t be punished for making investments based on existing law.”