Americans support Trump ending Biden's green grift

The radical Left and the Biden administration treated climate policy not as an energy or environmental strategy, but as a political religion — one funded by the American taxpayer to the tune of more than $1 trillion. President Trump is right to shut off the “green” subsidy spigot, and recent polling shows that Americans are supportive.

The Orwellian-named “Inflation Reduction Act” set aside $393 billion in green energy subsidies, funding everything from electric vehicle rebates to wind and solar tax credits. That may sound good in a press release, but it hasn’t delivered for hard-working Americans.

In fact, a recent Associated Press–NORC poll found that 72 percent of Americans say they haven’t personally benefited from the federal government’s climate initiatives. Worse yet, 60 percent of respondents believe the policies aren’t worth the cost.

Those numbers underscore what Texans—and energy-producing states—have long known: top-down green energy mandates don’t work, nor do they help American families. Instead, they burden them. They raise utility bills, overload unreliable electric grids, and put America’s energy security in the hands of hostile foreign nations like China and Saudi Arabia.

Over the last twenty years, Texas has become the wind and solar capital of the nation, while electricity from natural gas has stagnated and coal use has diminished. Wind and solar have grown to about 37 percent of power on Texas’ electrical grid, while coal power has decreased 21 percent over the decade. More than $140 billion in private capital has poured into wind, solar, and batteries in Texas, fueled by tens of billions in taxpayer dollars and a rigged price market.

And what has it gotten us? Wind and solar have failed the grid time and time again, and they completely abandoned Texans just when power was needed most during Winter Storm Uri. They have also contributed to electricity prices rising 28 percent from 2020 to 2024.

The Biden administration made “Net Zero by 2050” the cornerstone of its energy policy. But this arbitrary goal isn’t grounded in engineering, economics, or energy reality. It’s driven by international climate conferences and activist talking points.

Even the Associated Press admits that 42 percent of Americans aren’t willing to pay even one dollar more on their electric bill for climate change, yet leftist Democrats keep forcing costly green mandates down our throats. “Net Zero” has become a catchphrase for policies that force Americans to pay more for less energy, while weakening our nation’s ability to compete globally — all to virtue-signal on the environment.

Here’s what radical environmentalists won’t admit: the U.S. is already leading the world in emissions reductions. Thanks to the increased use of clean-burning natural gas, U.S. carbon emissions are down more than 20 percent in the last twenty years — a market-driven achievement, not a bureaucratic one. Texas has played a major role in this progress, proving that energy abundance and environmental responsibility aren’t mutually exclusive.

Meanwhile, the same administration that demonized fossil fuels was happy to enjoy their benefits. The oil and gas industry supports over 10 million American jobs and contributes nearly $2 trillion to our economy, about 8 percent of our GDP. Moreover, oil and natural gas still supply over 80% of America’s energy, power millions of homes and vehicles, and fuel the very economy that underwrites Biden’s climate spending spree.

Texas does energy the right way. We lead the nation in oil and gas production. We have built the most resilient energy workforce in the world. And we do it while delivering billions in tax revenue, job creation, and energy security — not empty promises wrapped in green ribbon.

Trump’s move to roll back these subsidies isn’t anti-environment — it’s pro-reality. It is a return to policies that trust innovation and competition instead of federal micromanagement. It’s a rejection of climate alarmism and an embrace of energy abundance.

The American people want affordable, reliable energy. They want policies that put working families ahead of political agendas. They don’t want to be forced into buying electric vehicles they can’t afford, powered by grids that can’t stay on.

It is time we stop pretending the federal government can subsidize its way to a sustainable future. True sustainability comes from markets, not mandates — from Texas oilfields, not Washington boardrooms.

Wayne Christian, a former U.S. House member, has served as Texas railroad commissioner since 2017.