As Trump’s “Biggest, Most Beautiful” Energy Price Hike Looms, His Agenda Keeps Draining Americans’ Wallets

To: Interested Parties
From: Evergreen Action Deputy Communications Director Seth Nelson
Date: May 30, 2025
Re: As Trump’s “Biggest, Most Beautiful” Energy Price Hike Looms, His Agenda Keeps Draining Americans’ Wallets

Last week, House Republicans passed Trump’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill”—a catastrophe in the making. The bill repeals the clean energy tax credits fueling America’s manufacturing boom and slashing household energy costs. It’s one of the most shameless grifts ever engineered, ripping money from working families to bankroll tax giveaways for billionaires and corporate polluters. If it becomes law, families will pay the price: electricity bills will rise by more than $110 next year—and by nearly $300 within a decade. Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” is nothing less than a backdoor energy tax on American families.

And that’s only part of the story. Trump’s broader so-called “energy dominance” agenda continues to destabilize markets, disrupt clean energy progress, and drive up costs. Just over two months ago, Evergreen detailed the many ways Trump’s administration was siphoning money from American households while padding the profits of fossil fuel CEOs. Since then, despite mounting evidence that his policies are hitting working families with higher energy bills, Trump has doubled down.

Below is a breakdown of the new key actions Trump has taken since our last update, and how each one is hiking costs for American families:

Trump’s Energy Price Hike: An Updated Timeline

May 23: Trump abuses emergency powers to force an expensive, polluting Michigan coal plant to stay open

Action: Invoking emergency powers under the 1935 Federal Power Act, former fossil fuel executive and current Secretary of Energy Chris Wright ordered a Michigan coal plant slated to close at the end of May to remain open, citing the potential for an energy emergency that doesn’t exist.

Impact: The move builds on a prior Trump executive order allowing DOE to cite grid reliability as a reason to force coal plants to remain open. Fossil Fuel enthusiast Chris Wright leaned on that rationale, warning of a potential summer energy emergency. But Michigan Public Service Commission chair Dan Scripps told The Detroit News that the state already produces more power than it needs, calling the DOE’s order “unnecessary” and warning it will raise costs for homes and businesses across the Midwest. MISO, the grid operator for Michigan and 14 other Midwest states, also confirmed last month it has “sufficient capacity” heading into summer. If Trump’s manufactured emergency were real, his own efforts to stall clean energy would only make it worse. Whether it’s using executive powers to block clean energy or abusing emergency authority to prop up the dying coal industry, the result is the same: Trump is forcing Americans to subsidize his fossil fuel cronies’ profits. 

May 20: Trump’s DOT moves to roll back fuel economy standards that are projected to save drivers more than $23 billion in gasoline costs

Action: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had taken a key step to reverse Biden-era fuel economy rules designed to save Americans money and reduce pollution.

Impact: In his first official move as Transportation Secretary, Duffy signed a memo acknowledging Trump’s policy of promoting fossil fuel use and initiating the rollback, falsely claiming that the standards—along with a nonexistent federal “EV mandate”— are making cars unaffordable. In reality (something the former Real World star should be familiar with), the standards don’t even take effect until 2027, making his claim laughable on its face. The fuel economy rules now on the chopping block are projected to save drivers more than $23 billion in fuel costs—roughly $600 per vehicle over its lifetime. Rolling them back, a top priority of fossil fuel companies, means less efficient cars and higher prices at the pump for American drivers.

May 16: Despite a federal investigation finding zero evidence of wrongdoing, Trump’s EPA keeps up its illegal clawback of Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund grants

Action: Trump’s EPA continued its push to illegally terminate $20 billion in clean energy grants, stalling projects funded through the GGRF’s National Clean Investment Fund and Clean Communities Investment Accelerator in low-income communities. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has claimed, without evidence, that the terminations were justified by misconduct and fraud. But The New York Times reported that a federal investigation may have ended after turning up no evidence of wrongdoing.

Impact: The terminations froze critical funding and halted projects aimed at lowering costs in communities that need it most. In Michigan, plans to build and renovate energy-efficient rental housing to address a severe housing shortage are now at risk, as developers can’t access the capital they were promised—leaving more Michiganders unable to afford to live where they work. Millions more in funding for cost-saving measures, like insulating older homes, are also now on the chopping block.

May 15: Trump’s DOE puts billions in clean energy loans on the chopping block

Action: Trump’s DOE launched a sweeping “review” of 179 Biden-era awards, totaling more than $15 billion, signaling potential terminations. Days later, Semafor reported that the first cuts could target loans issued by the DOE’s Loan Programs Office (LPO). And on May 29, the department officially canceled its first LPO loan.

Impact: The review casts serious doubt over key clean energy projects. Under Biden, the LPO approved more than 50 deals worth over $100 billion, including a major loan to Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) expected to deliver $100 million in annual savings to 5.5 million Californians. But with rising costs from Trump’s tariffs and mounting uncertainty over the promised loan, PG&E says it can no longer factor in those savings, meaning customers will foot the bill. Other utilities, including in Michigan, face similar risks. Meanwhile, E&E News reported that DOE is evaluating clean energy loan values for potential sale, signaling the office could shutter altogether.

May 12: Trump’s DOE moves to scrap efficiency standards that save families money on appliances

Action: Trump’s DOE proposed repealing or weakening more than two dozen efficiency standards, including for appliances, claiming the move would save Americans more than $11 billion.

Impact: The DOE’s own analysis shows the move would increase utility bills by more than $54 billion, according to the Appliance Standards Awareness Project. Rolling back these standards could flood the market with outdated, energy-wasting products, driving up energy costs for millions.

May 6: Trump moves to eliminate ENERGY STAR, the program that helps families identify energy-efficient appliances that cut their bills

Action: The New York Times reported that Trump’s EPA plans to terminate the ENERGY STAR program, a widely used labeling system that helps consumers identify energy-efficient appliances.

Impact: Though ENERGY STAR is authorized under the Clean Air Act and cannot be unilaterally scrapped, the move aligns with Trump’s efforts to dismantle environmental programs in favor of fossil fuel interests. The program costs just $32 million annually but saves consumers over $40 billion each year on utility bills. In March, dozens of companies urged EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to protect ENERGY STAR, warning that eliminating it “will not serve the American people”—especially as electricity demand is set to surge in the years ahead.

April 29: Court filing reveals Trump’s EPA plans to cancel nearly 800 environmental justice grants for communities hit hardest by pollution and high costs

Action: According to a court filing reported by The Washington Post, the EPA plans to cancel all grants issued by its Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights—nearly 800 in total. The filing came just days after reports that the EPA would fire every staffer working on environmental justice.

Impact: Although the agency is required to conduct a detailed review of each grant before termination, experts say the EPA has yet to provide evidence that any such reviews have taken place and may have misled the court. If finalized, the cancellations would strip funding from vulnerable communities working to lower energy costs and protect residents from air and water pollution—halting critical progress towards healthier, more affordable communities.

April 23: Trump’s Interior Department moves to fast-track fossil fuel drilling on public lands

Action: Citing Trump’s fake day one “energy emergency” declaration, the Interior Department announced it would fast-track approvals for fossil fuels on public lands, claiming the declaration allows it to radically slash environmental review timelines required by bedrock environmental laws.

Impact: Despite expert consensus that no such energy emergency exists, Trump is cutting project review timelines from a year to just 14 days—effectively eliminating public input opportunities. While nearly all new electricity supply last year came from renewables, Trump paused new solar and wind approvals on federal land and waters, just one of many actions he’s taken to deliberately slow clean energy deployment (while he later resumed review of solar projects, wind approvals remain paused and developers report that lack of agency staff is impacting project financing, purchasing, and construction start dates). Ironically, his fake energy emergency risks creating a real one. By sidelining clean energy and locking in costly fossil fuels, permitting laws and environmental reviews be damned, utilities will pass rising costs on to consumers—just as electricity demand is surging.

April 16: Trump orders a fully permitted offshore wind project to halt construction

Action: The Trump administration ordered Equinor to halt construction of its fully permitted Empire Wind 1 farm, claiming, without evidence, that its underlying environmental analysis was rushed.

Impact: Although the Trump administration later allowed construction to resume, the abrupt halt sent a chilling message to investors: under Trump, even fully permitted projects aren’t safe. As with his tariff threats, the uncertainty over whether permits will be honored undermines the confidence needed to finance clean energy projects—jacking up costs that will ultimately get passed on to American households.

April 8: Trump signs an executive order to prop up the dying coal industry on families’ dime

Action: Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the DOE to prevent coal plants from shutting down, even if they violate environmental rules or drive up power costs.

Impact: Coal is the dirtiest and most expensive source of electricity on the grid. Trump’s order not only overrides state authority to regulate utilities, it also forces consumers to foot the bill for aging, uneconomical plants. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has even floated restarting already shuttered coal plants. The result: polluters rake in guaranteed profits while Americans get stuck with higher energy bills—even when cheaper, cleaner, and more reliable alternatives are available. 

April 2: Trump fires the staff who run home heating aid, then proposes cutting the program entirely

Action: The Trump administration abruptly fired the entire staff overseeing the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), the $4.1 billion program that helps low-income families afford their utility bills. Weeks later, the White House proposed cutting the program entirely.

Impact: LIHEAP helps families pay for heating oil, weatherize homes, and avoid utility shutoffs. With no staff to distribute remaining funds, despite a congressional mandate to do so, advocates warned millions could be left without aid. The Department of Health and Human Services briefly rehired one employee to release the final round of funding, but the next day, Trump’s budget proposed eliminating the program altogether, calling it “unnecessary.” More than 6 million households could now face reduced or eliminated benefits, leaving them unable to afford basic heating or cooling.

April 2: Trump’s national tariff taxes throw energy markets into chaos

Action: On what he dubbed “Liberation Day,” Trump announced sweeping tariffs on nearly every country across the globe, including our allies, claiming they’ve maintained unfair trade relationships with the U.S.

Impact: Even as the White House has walked back some tariffs (for now), and the Courts are considering the legality of Trump’s authority to impose them, much of the damage was already done. Energy markets have been thrown into turmoil. U.S. liquefied “natural” gas (LNG) is now positioned as a bargaining chip, after Trump floated that Europe could avoid tariffs by buying more American gas. Trading partners may ramp up purchase commitments to rebalance trade—potentially triggering volatile swings in household energy bills. Meanwhile, the ongoing uncertainty around Trump’s tariff whims is worsening supply chain disruptions for key electrical components, slowing the buildout of renewable energy and critical grid infrastructure—driving costs higher for new and existing projects.

April 1: Trump’s DOE clears the way for more gas exports, threatening to raise prices at home

Action: On his first day back in office, Trump lifted the freeze on LNG export approvals. His DOE later removed a major regulatory hurdle, further unleashing fossil fuel companies’ ability to sell gas overseas.

Impact: Even before Trump’s election, North American gas exports, driven by new U.S. projects, were on track to more than double by 2028. According to E&E News, EIA expects LNG-driven demand to push prices higher this year and next. Easing the path for new export projects means more gas going overseas—and higher energy costs at home.

Mar. 27: Trump announces a national tariff tax on all cars and car parts entering the U.S.

Action: Trump announced that all cars and car parts entering the United States would face a 25% tariff.

Impact: With nearly half of all vehicles sold in the U.S. imported, prices could jump by $5,000 to $15,000 for a new car. “I couldn’t care less if they raise prices because people are going to start buying American cars,” said Trump, while his tariffs on steel, aluminum, and potentially copper—all essential for car production—are also driving up the cost of American-made vehicles. While he has walked back some tariffs on parts, excluding those from China, the uncertainty remains. As one industry expert told Reuters, “volatility continues” with Trump proposing and revising tariffs on short notice. And the exemptions don’t “change the broader business strategy questions facing automakers.”

March 19: Trump fires Democratic-appointed FTC commissioners, undermining agency’s ability to prevent monopolistic behavior in the energy sector

Action: In defiance of a 1935 Supreme Court ruling that presidents aren’t allowed to remove commissioners from independent agencies without good cause, Trump fired both Democratic-appointed members of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Antitrust advocates say the move serves corporate donors and Big Tech, rather than the American people.

Impact: The FTC was designed to protect consumers from corporate abuse. Removing commissioners who are more likely to oppose corporate consolidation undermines the agency’s ability to prevent monopolistic behavior, including in the energy sector, where utilities and fossil fuel companies are already inflating prices. For instance, in 2022, it successfully cracked down on false energy savings claims from home product companies. Weakening the agency’s independence makes it less likely that future scams will be caught—leaving households more exposed to inflated costs.

Trump’s Energy Agenda Amounts To Economic Sabotage For American Families

Trump’s energy agenda isn’t about lowering costs. It’s about rewarding polluters and fossil fuel donors at the expense of American families. From clawing back clean energy grants and gutting efficiency standards, to destabilizing markets with chaotic tariffs and pulling the rug out from under already approved projects, Trump’s policies are systematically raising energy bills for households everywhere.

Simply put, Trump’s energy agenda amounts to economic sabotage. If left unchecked, American families will keep paying the price. And soon, if his “One Big Beautiful” catastrophe becomes law, they’ll be hit with his biggest price hike yet.

For more information or to speak with an Evergreen Action policy expert, please contact Deputy Communications Director Seth Nelson at seth@evergreenaction.com.

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