Key Senate Democrats set high bar for permitting bill support
Summary
Four Senate Democrats say they want the Trump administration to restore certain clean-energy grants before they decide whether to support a bipartisan permitting bill. Their letter raises concerns that the bill could give the administration more ways to favor fossil fuels, though it does not make grant restoration an ultimatum.Key Facts
- Sens. Tammy Duckworth, Ron Wyden, Ed Markey, and Jeff Merkley sent the letter to the bill’s authors.
- The senators asked the administration to reinstate eligible grants terminated in October 2025, set a completion timeline, and let recipients use funds under the original terms.
- They also asked the administration to pledge in writing not to cancel grants based on a state’s or its officials’ political affiliation.
- The letter said restoring grants it calls unlawfully terminated would be a step toward fairness in permitting.
- The Energy Department acknowledged in a court filing that political considerations influenced the selection of grants for termination in October 2025.
- A report by the DOE Alumni Network and Lawyers for Good Government said many affected grants remain in limbo and most projects DOE retained have received little funding.
- The bipartisan bill’s co-authors, Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse and Martin Heinrich, have said they want more federal approvals for stalled renewable-energy projects.
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