$600B of Biden’s clean energy funding survives Trump’s cuts

The Trump administration came into office with a clear mandate to dismantle its predecessor’s climate agenda. More than 18 months later, roughly $600 billion in congressionally approved clean energy spending is still sitting on the table, largely intact.

A Politico analysis from August 2026 lays out the scorecard.

What actually got cut, and what didn’t

The administration’s biggest win came on tax incentives. Over $540 billion in clean-energy tax breaks, covering electric vehicles and renewable technologies, were eliminated.

Of the nearly $1 trillion in direct spending components, the Trump administration targeted roughly $60 billion for cuts. That’s about 6% of the total. Even that relatively modest target has been stuck in litigation and bureaucratic disputes for the better part of a year and a half.

The Department of Energy reviewed its funding awards and, in most cases, maintained or restored them. The Environmental Protection Agency took a harder line, terminating grants totaling $29 billion. Courts have since reinstated some of those awards, leaving the final tally still unsettled.

The political geography of the cuts

At least $30 billion in terminated awards were concentrated in blue states and districts represented by Democrats.

The two laws at the center of this fight are the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. Together they directed around $350 billion specifically toward climate and clean energy initiatives.

What comes next

The Politico analysis covers actions through mid-2026, which puts it squarely in the middle of two converging political events: congressional funding debates over the next fiscal year and the November elections.

The bulk of federal funding remains accessible, which sustains the underlying demand environment for solar, wind, grid infrastructure, and efficiency projects. The uncertainty around the remaining contested $60 billion, and which specific awards remain in limbo, creates real planning risk for project developers who built timelines around specific grant disbursements.

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