Democrats were stunned Wednesday at reports the Trump administration is considering canceling finalized loans from the Department of Energy if they do not align with the administration’s preferences.
Bloomberg reported Tuesday that the new director of the Loan Programs Office, John Sneed, said in a meeting last week that he is exploring canceling existing financing deals.
It’s not clear that the move would be legal, and it could upend major clean energy or manufacturing projects moving forward with multibillion-dollar loan guarantees, including a $6.6 billion commitment to Rivian for an electric vehicle manufacturing facility in Georgia.
Tyler O’Connor, who leads the energy team at the law firm Crowell and Moring, told lawmakers at a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing Wednesday that he believed “all LPO loans are paused to date.”
