The Trump administration came into office with a clear mandate to dismantle its predecessor’s climate agenda. More than 18 months later, roughly $600 billion in congressionally approved clean energy spending is still sitting on the table, largely intact.
A Politico analysis from August 2026 lays out the scorecard.
What actually got cut, and what didn’t
The administration’s biggest win came on tax incentives. Over $540 billion in clean-energy tax breaks, covering electric vehicles and renewable technologies, were eliminated.
Of the nearly $1 trillion in direct spending components, the Trump administration targeted roughly $60 billion for cuts. That’s about 6% of the total. Even that relatively modest target has been stuck in litigation and bureaucratic disputes for the better part of a year and a half.
