A possible Donald Trump re-entry would protect hundreds of billions of dollars in climate funding and other components of his reputation, according to President Joe Biden.
The American Rescue Plan, his pandemic stimulus item, the so-called bipartisan infrastructure law, the CHIPS and Science Act, a bill to increase domestic high-tech and semiconductor manufacturing, and the Inflation Reduction Act, a bill that generally compromises clean energy spending, have all been approved by Congress, but Biden has yet to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on it.
On Friday, President Joe Biden unveiled plans for$ 80 billion in federal funding for the passenger train system, marking Amtrak’s 50th anniversary. https ://t.co/GfHIRK0td9
— Breitbart News ( @BreitbartNews ) May 1, 2021
The bills contain$ 1.6 trillion in what , Politico calls , “loans, grants and tax credits meant to green the economy, revive the country’s manufacturing base, repair its roads and bridges and challenge China for technological supremacy”.
A significant portion of the four bills have yet to be spent, as , Politico reported:
- Of the$ 1.1 trillion , those four laws “provided for direct investments on climate, energy and infrastructure” , , less than 17 % has been spent , as of April.
- Of the$ 884 billion  , provided by the infrastructure law and the American Rescue Plan,  , only$ 125 billion has been spent, and roughly$ 300 billion wo n’t be available to spend until the next two fiscal years.
- Of the$ 54 billion  , made available via the CHIPS and Science Act,  , less than$ 700 million  , has been awarded , —” though the Commerce Department has announced$ 29 billion in tentative awards to semiconductor manufacturers in recent months”.
John Podesta, a senior clean energy adviser at the White House, claimed that the administration is “deliberating and haste” in order to ensure the funding is allocated before a potential Trump presidency.
Trump has stated that he should be able to refuse to use unused congressional funds. Former EPA chief of staff under Trump, Manny Gunsekara, predicted that a upcoming Trump presidency might attempt to halt pending grant approvals and applications until they are subjected to additional scrutiny.
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Anything that has not yet left the door will be paused, reviewed, and then taken into account, according to Gunsekara.
Karoline Leavitt, a Trump campaign spokesperson, said,  ,” President Trump will repeal Joe Biden’s radical EV mandates to save America’s auto industry and cut costs to reduce inflation and get our economy booming again”.
For Breitbart News, Sean Moran covers policy reporting. Follow him on Twitter , @SeanMoran3.
