President Joe Biden’s legacy is falling apart. The Trump admin has been taking an axe to it all.
But Congress just made a late-night move against Joe Biden that surprised even Trump and the White House.
Congress Looking To Unravel Biden’s “Green New Deal” Agenda
Congressional Republicans are mounting a fierce counteroffensive against the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a sprawling law cloaked in environmental virtue but teeming with subsidies that critics argue prop up corporate giants and foreign manufacturers at the expense of American taxpayers. With President Donald Trump’s promise of “one big, beautiful bill” to dismantle this agenda, GOP lawmakers are seizing a rare chance to unravel what they call a socialist Trojan horse disguised as green policy.
The House Ways and Means Committee’s draft bill, unveiled Monday, targets key IRA subsidies for electric vehicles and clean hydrogen while sparing tax credits for carbon sequestration, biofuels, and advanced manufacturing—sectors tied to solar and battery storage that some Republicans still champion. The Energy Freedom Act, spearheaded by Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and Reps. Chip Roy of Texas and Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma, takes a bolder stance, demanding a complete repeal of all IRA green energy subsidies.
“The Inflation Reduction Act, better known as the Green New Scam, is providing massive unlimited subsidies to billion dollar corporations and Chinese manufacturers to the detriment of American energy freedom and dominance,” Roy declared. This legislation, exclusively reviewed by sources, aims to fulfill Trump’s 2024 campaign pledge to obliterate Biden’s climate policies, which Republicans argue distort markets and burden consumers.
The GOP’s strategy hinges on the budget reconciliation process, a parliamentary maneuver that allows them to bypass Democratic opposition with a simple majority in both chambers. This tactic mirrors how Democrats rammed the IRA through in August 2022, dodging a Senate filibuster despite unanimous Republican dissent. For Republicans, this reconciliation package represents a now-or-never moment to gut Biden’s climate framework during Trump’s second term. Failure to act, they warn, would cement a legacy of government overreach that funnels taxpayer dollars into unproven technologies and foreign interests.
At its core, the IRA is less about saving the planet and more about entrenching a system of corporate welfare under the guise of environmentalism, critics contend. “America’s energy policy should be about keeping the lights on and costs low — not lining the pockets of special interests,” Lee, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, stated. The law’s subsidies, which include over 20 tax credits, have ballooned far beyond initial projections, with costs potentially reaching $2 trillion by 2034 and $4.7 trillion by 2050, according to the CATO Institute. This runaway spending, Republicans argue, is a deliberate step toward socializing energy markets.
“The Green New Deal in the past five years was the most overt declaration that we're going to rapidly eliminate fossil fuels, and by the way nuclear as well. It had this ‘100% renewable’ commitment, which excludes nuclear.” pic.twitter.com/T4iqRnpIxJ
— Alex Epstein (@AlexEpstein) December 7, 2024
The IRA’s defenders claim it’s a necessary response to climate change, but skeptics see it as a backdoor to centralized control. The law’s largest subsidies are designed to persist unless greenhouse gas emissions drop to levels deemed unattainable for decades, locking in a cycle of dependency on government handouts. This structure, coupled with provisions allowing developers to buy and sell tax credits through “transferability,” creates a speculative market that enriches elites while doing little for ordinary Americans. The GOP’s repeal effort would end this practice and eliminate the law’s petroleum tax, restoring what they call a level playing field.
The financial stakes are staggering. The Congressional Budget Office initially pegged the IRA’s green subsidies at $370 million over a decade, a figure now dwarfed by updated estimates. “The IRA turned our tax code into a multi-trillion energy entitlement program, creating subsidies without caps, sunsets, or accountability,” said Adam Michel, director of tax policy studies at the CATO Institute. This unchecked largesse, critics argue, is less about innovation and more about funneling public funds to politically connected industries, many of which have ties to Chinese manufacturers.
Republicans face internal challenges, as some moderate party members favor retaining certain subsidies, particularly those benefiting solar and battery projects. Yet the Energy Freedom Act’s architects insist that partial measures won’t suffice. “If Republicans are going to refuse to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act, they are not going to get a Republican tax bill through the House,” Roy warned. The law’s inflationary impact and its strain on the national debt make full repeal non-negotiable for hardline conservatives who see it as a litmus test for GOP unity.
The timing is critical. Lawmakers are set to introduce the bill early Tuesday, ahead of a tax-writing panel’s markup session that afternoon. This compressed timeline emphasizes the urgency of dismantling what Republicans view as a cornerstone of Biden’s socialist-leaning agenda. By embedding the IRA repeal in the reconciliation package, they aim to deliver a decisive blow to policies they argue undermine American energy independence and economic freedom.
The IRA’s passage in 2022 was a masterclass in legislative sleight-of-hand, using reconciliation to sidestep debate and force through a law that no Republican supported. Now, the GOP is turning the tables, wielding the same tool to undo what they see as an affront to free markets. The law’s subsidies, which critics say rig the energy market against traditional sources like oil and gas, have driven up costs and left the electrical grid more vulnerable, according to Lee’s office.
Public sentiment, particularly among working-class Americans, aligns with the GOP’s skepticism. The promise of “green jobs” has often fallen flat, with many subsidized projects benefiting foreign firms or requiring skills that sideline local workers. Meanwhile, the law’s focus on electric vehicles and clean hydrogen—technologies still years from widespread affordability—feels disconnected from the immediate needs of families grappling with rising energy bills.
The repeal effort is not without risks. Democrats and environmental groups will likely frame it as an attack on climate progress, rallying their base to paint Republicans as beholden to fossil fuel interests. Yet GOP lawmakers argue that true energy independence comes from unleashing market competition, not propping up pet projects with taxpayer dollars. The IRA’s reliance on unattainable emissions targets, they say, is a feature, not a bug, designed to perpetuate government control indefinitely.
For conservatives, the IRA is a symbol of everything wrong with big government: bloated spending, cronyism, and a creeping socialist agenda masked by green rhetoric. Repealing it, they argue, is not just about energy policy—it’s about reclaiming America’s economic soul.
Republicans know that this reconciliation package may be their only shot to dismantle Biden’s legacy before it becomes entrenched. With the clock ticking, they’re betting that a full-throated repeal will resonate with voters fed up with government overreach and ready for a return to American energy dominance.
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
