Last-minute changes to Senate’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ stun clean energy industry (and Elon Musk)

The Senate is making a final push to advance President Trump’s signature legislation with a flurry of last-minute changes that stunned Elon Musk and the already besieged clean energy industry while offering new support for fossil fuels.

The controversy surrounding the bill’s energy approach is just one front in a frenzied final push with plenty of additional attention on the price tag after a new weekend tally found that bill has grown by nearly $1 trillion since the Senate took it up.

Meanwhile a grueling final Senate push to approve the package cleared a key procedural hurdle over the weekend, with consideration continuing and an amendment process expected to take up much of Monday before a final vote later Monday or perhaps Tuesday.

The energy provisions of the 900-plus page bill have come in for particular scrutiny after last minute changes phased out clean energy tax credits faster than expected and also added new taxes on wind and solar projects.

At the same time, new last minute inducements were unveiled for fossil fuels, including one classifying coal as a critical mineral when it comes to a government manufacturing credit.

“We’re doing coal,” Trump said in an interview released over the weekend on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures” where he also called solar energy projects “ugly as hell.”

TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House on June 27, 2025, in Washington, DC. President Trump claimed a
President Donald Trump during a news conference at the White House on Friday. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images) · ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS via Getty Images

The mix left fossil fuel advocates celebrating and clean energy advocates slamming the bill at a new higher volume.

Tesla (TSLA) CEO Musk — who worked in the White House before his dramatic falling out with the president — was perhaps the loudest voice in the latter group. He issued a series of weekend posts calling the bill “utterly insane and destructive [with] handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future.”

The energy changes came as top-line costs of the deal remained a key point of contention. A nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office tally released over the weekend showed the revised bill would add at least $3.3 trillion to the national debt.

That assessment, which does not include additional interest costs, comes after a similar analysis of the House package found a $2.4 trillion tab.

Trump suggested Republicans look past the deficit implications in one of his weekend posts, urging passage as soon as possible saying he also wants to cut costs but adding to lawmakers: “REMEMBER, you still have to get reelected.”

He also made a case that White House projections of blockbuster economic growth (dismissed by many economists as fantastical) will make the math add up in the end.

Source link

Visited 1 times, 1 visit(s) today

Related Article

DOGE Cancels 'Take Me Fishing,' Even Though It Was Funded by Anglers

DOGE Cancels ‘Take Me Fishing,’ Even Though It Was Funded by Anglers

Sign up for the Quick Strike Newsletter The hottest fishing news, tips, and tactics This month the Department of Governmental Efficiency canceled funding to the nonprofit organization that offers learn-to-fish programs all across America. As a result, the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation has been forced to pause programs like Take Me Fishing and events

Driverless vehicle on a city street with pedestrians on sidewalks.

What’s the Best Driverless Vehicle Stock? (Hint: It’s Not Tesla or Alphabet)

Alphabet‘s (GOOG -0.43%) (GOOGL -1.19%) Waymo unit is widely considered the front-runner in the driverless vehicle space, while Tesla (TSLA -1.71%) generates the most publicity in this realm, with its CEO touting that it will be the first to “solve autonomy.” But, currently, the best driverless vehicle stock is Nvidia (NVDA 0.35%). The artificial intelligence

Pair of hands holding coal.

Why Core Natural Resources Stock Topped the Market Today

A business update provided by Core Natural Resources‘ (CNR 2.71%) provided plenty of energy for its stock on Monday. Shares of the coal miner popped by nearly 3% that day as a result and make the stock look rather good when comparing its performance to the 0.5% lift of the S&P 500 index Sales guidance maintained

Uber Technologies, Inc. (UBER), Waymo Launch Autonomous Ride-Hailing In Atlanta

Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) is among the 13 Best Big Name Stocks to Buy Now. On June 24, the company announced that it had partnered with Waymo to launch autonomous ride-hailing in Atlanta. Uber Technologies, Inc. (UBER), Waymo Launch Autonomous Ride-Hailing In Atlanta A close up view of a hand holding a smartphone, using a ride

0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x