- Senate Republicans monitor President Donald Trump's order affecting green energy tax credits' survival.
- The executive order may accelerate tax credit phaseouts, raising lawmakers' concerns.
- Sen. John Curtis and others seek clarity, emphasizing Congress's intent to preserve credits.
WASHINGTON — A group of Senate Republicans is cautiously watching to see if a recent executive order will undo progress to temporarily preserve green energy tax credits in President Donald Trump's massive tax package.
Trump signed an executive order on Monday directing the federal government to be aggressive in its task to roll back clean energy subsidies, instructing the Treasury to take action it "deems necessary and appropriate" to enforce the termination of the tax incentives. That language has raised questions about whether it allows the Treasury secretary to phase out the green energy tax credits more quickly than the newly signed law permits.
"We're being thorough and looking into that," Utah Sen. John Curtis, who acted as a lead negotiator in softening the tax credit phaseouts, told the Deseret News. "And I can say that we're asking questions to make sure it doesn't."
When asked if he would push back against the White House if it pushed for faster terminations, Curtis said: "Well, let me just say we fought very hard to get that into reconciliation, and that is the will of Congress."
The megabill passed by Congress last week includes language to largely dismantle federal tax incentives for electric cars, wind and solar power usage, and other green energy technologies previously passed by the Biden administration.
However, Curtis and other Senate Republicans managed to include language that would delay expiration of those tax credits, arguing they offer critical support for businesses across the country that will need time to adjust.
The updated bill gives companies a 12-month window to begin construction and still be eligible for the full subsidy. If companies begin construction in that window, they'll receive the credit for four years after the start date. Those projects would then receive 100% of available subsidies but must be placed in service by the end of 2027.
The bill stipulates projects that begin after that 12-month deadline must also be completed and placed into service by the end of 2027 to qualify.
However, the executive order directs the Treasury to take any action it "deems necessary and appropriate to strictly enforce the termination of the clean electricity production."
That includes issuing "new and revised guidance" to ensure that projects are not able to get around the strict parameters concerning the "beginning of construction" requirements. The executive order also directs the department to restrict the use of "broad safe harbors" by requiring a substantial portion of the facility to be built.
That has raised concerns it would limit which projects qualify as "started construction."
"Yes, it's awful," Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, another key advocate of green energy tax credits, told the Deseret News of the order.
North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, who voted against the tax package and announced he would retire next year, also cited concerns about how the executive order would be implemented at the risk of the clean energy industry.
"There are a number of things the administration can do now that they've been empowered to basically shut down the industry and make it even more negatively impacted than if they follow the letter of the law," Tillis said on Wednesday. "We're trying to see."
Tillis said he has not spoken to the White House about the order. The Deseret News contacted a spokesperson for the Trump administration but did not receive a response.
The executive order was issued as part of assurances the White House offered to a group of fiscal conservatives in the House to win their support for the full tax reconciliation package, one lawmaker engaged in the talks told the Deseret News.
Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., hinted those changes may be coming last week, telling reporters he switched his "no" vote to "yes" after receiving clarification on the green energy tax credits.
House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, who led the drafting and passage of the Trump tax bill, told the Deseret News the executive order merely works in tandem with the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" to ensure "no delay in enforcing and implementing what we put in law in terms of winding down and repealing both the projects and the credits."
"It's a commitment to move with speed and purpose, to implement the things that we put into the bill itself," Arrington said. "I'm not privy to anything beyond that commitment, but that's a significant commitment in my mind."
