A former Biden administration official running for the House says he wants to use his policy experience on programs related to the Democrats’ 2022 climate law.
Pablo McConnie-Saad was until January a senior Treasury Department adviser, working in the office helping homeowners, companies, cities and others to take advantage of the hundreds of billions of dollars of clean energy tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act.
That’s now a key part of his campaign for Pennsylvania’s 3rd District in Philadelphia. McConnie-Saad is focusing his message on affordability and arguing Republicans exacerbated the crisis when they rolled back renewable energy incentives through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
“Taking away something like the Inflation Reduction Act, that was going to reduce costs for folks, it’s just devastating,” McConnie-Saad told POLITICO’s E&E News in an interview this month.
“The Inflation Reduction Act was the single greatest investment in this country’s history to try to transition the country away from fossil fuels towards renewables. These are things that would save money for people,” he added. “Energy costs are going through the roof, and divesting from all of these provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act is going to make life more expensive across the board.”
McConnie-Saad worked in Treasury’s IRA Implementation Program Office, which was overseen by then-Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo. The job included helping shape tax credit guidance and to inform potential recipients how to use them.
The 2022 law leaned heavily on Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service, since most of the clean energy-related programs were changes, expansions or new additions to the tax code.
An example of McConnie-Saad’s work was communicating to nonprofits and municipalities so they could get money under the IRA’s “direct pay” provisions.
“We needed the public to know what the Inflation Reduction Act was and how they could benefit from it. And that required a whole-of-government approach, and the Treasury was a good place to do that,” he said.
McConnie-Saad, whose parents moved to Philadelphia from Puerto Rico, is a political newcomer, running as a progressive candidate. He emphasized his Philadelphia roots in launching his campaign, along with his affordability message.
“Rents are still too high, and there still aren’t enough good jobs,” he says in his launch video.
He’s one of a growing group of 2026 congressional candidates bringing significant energy and climate change experience to their races.
The 3rd District — which includes Philadelphia’s Center City and West Philadelphia — has been held since 2016 by Rep. Dwight Evans (D). Evans, 71, announced this year that he wouldn’t seek reelection, following health concerns including a 2024 stroke.
The May Democratic primary is shaping up to be a crowded one, with McConnie-Saad competing against at least seven other hopefuls.
The field includes state Sen. Sharif Street, whose father and uncle were major political figures. McConnie-Saad used his launch video to accuse Street and others of contributing to the state’s political dysfunction.
The 3rd District’s constituency is heavily Democratic, so the primary winner is nearly certain to prevail in next November’s general election.
