Trump Freezes Energy Department Spending, Loans

(Bloomberg) -- The Trump administration has halted spending, loans and other actions at the Energy Department as part of a “comprehensive review” to ensure they align with the president’s priorities, according to a memo from the agency’s acting secretary seen by Bloomberg. 

The Jan. 20 memo freezes the awarding of grants, loans, funding opportunities, procurement announcements, rules, studies and activities including personnel moves and publication of rules and studies, until approval by acting secretary Ingrid Kolb. 

Trump has vowed to put an end to spending on climate-friendly policies he has deemed wasteful, while championing fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas. 

“Effective immediately and until further notice, prior to any actions or decisions on all herein described activities, a review under varying criteria will be undertaken to ensure all such actions are consistent with current Administration policies and priorities including budgetary priorities,” said the memo, which was addressed to heads at the agency. 

The order essentially freezes the department, which has a roughly $50 billion budget that includes awarding funds to help commercialize new energy technologies. Its Loan Programs Office has some $41.2 billion in conditional commitments to companies that have yet to be finalized. Other agency missions include cleaning up nuclear waste left behind from bomb development during the Cold War, studying super computers and maintaining the nation’s massive cache of emergency crude oil.

The memo, which is similar to directives issued to some agencies by former president Joe Biden when he took office, is notable because it is broader than an executive order signed by Trump on his first day in office. That directive ordered a halt and review to spending from Biden’s signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, and a bipartisan transportation bill that also contained billions in spending for a range of Energy Department initiatives. 

The Energy Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. 

A similar Trump administration memo sent by the Interior Department’s acting head Jan. 20 ordered a freeze on leases, rights of way and other approvals for wind and solar projects on federal lands and water.

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