Trump’s assault on climate programs begins

By Adam Aton, Scott Waldman, Jean Chemnick, Chelsea Harvey, Mike Lee | 01/29/2025 06:40 AM EST

The president’s first week brought tough talk on cutting climate and clean energy spending. This week brought chaos.

People follow a virtual speech of President Donald Trump at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 23, 2025.

People follow a virtual speech of President Donald Trump at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday. Markus Schreiber/AP

Decades-old programs are in limbo. Governors of both parties are scrambling for scraps of information. And the risks of investing in U.S. climate action have been laid bare like never before.

President Donald Trump’s attempt to seize control of federal spending away from Congress is already reshaping the political and economic landscape beneath the energy transition. Monday’s order by the Office of Management and Budget to stop federal grants was the most destabilizing move yet by an administration that has moved with lightning speed to remake the federal government in Trump’s image.

“Could you imagine that they would go after the programs they’re going after? Sure,” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) said Tuesday at a press conference. “But certainly not all at once.”

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Minutes before the administration’s freeze was set to take effect Tuesday night, a federal judge suspended the effort while the court considers one of many lawsuits arguing it’s illegal.

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