A growing band of Republican senators and representatives is breaking ranks with party leadership over clean energy tax credits.
Despite the recent passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) on a razor-thin 51-50 Senate vote, several GOP lawmakers are refusing to fall in line.
Senators Susan Collins, Rand Paul, and Thom Tillis voted against the party’s bill.
Not exactly the usual suspects. Collins didn’t mince words about why – she wanted a gradual phase-out of tax credits rather than pulling the rug out from completed project work.
Breaking from GOP orthodoxy, Collins pushed for planned tax credit phase-outs rather than abrupt termination for projects already in motion.
Maine’s heat pumps and residential solar were on her mind, too.
Meanwhile, Iowa’s Republican duo – Senators Ernst and Grassley – along with Alaska’s Murkowski pushed an amendment to strip new solar and wind taxes.
It made it into the final text after nearly 2,800 calls from climate advocates flooded Senate offices.
Pressure works, folks.
The bill isn’t as bad as it could have been.
Princeton modeler Jesse Jenkins estimates it’s 25% less damaging to the climate and household energy bills than the House version.
Small victories, I guess.
Representative Brian Fitzpatrick is taking things even further.
As one of just two House Republicans who voted against OBBBA, he’s now drafting legislation to reinstate solar and wind incentives.
He called the renewable energy cuts “nonsensical” – a rare moment of clarity on Capitol Hill.
Fitzpatrick considers renewable energy essential for energy independence and national security.
The final OBBBA does preserve some clean energy provisions.
Nuclear, geothermal, and biofuels – all GOP-friendly energy sources – were spared the axe.
How convenient.
For solar and wind projects, there’s a 12-month construction grace period before credits vanish.
The advanced manufacturing credit survives too, just with new foreign entity restrictions.
Republicans are determined to have the revised bill reach President Trump for his signature by July 4.
These Republican rebels aren’t exactly starting a revolution, but in today’s hyper-partisan Congress, even small cracks in party unity over clean energy deserve attention.
The climate might depend on it.
References
- https://citizensclimatelobby.org/blog/policy/senate-passes-bill-cutting-clean-energy-tax-credits-but-several-republican-senators-help-avoid-the-worst-outcomes/
- https://www.eenews.net/articles/republican-working-on-new-clean-energy-tax-push/
- https://www.novoco.com/notes-from-novogradac/the-final-one-big-beautiful-bill-act-is-bad-news-for-solar-wind-home-energy-efficiency-other-clean-energy-tax-credits
- https://www.majorityleader.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=5830
- https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1
- https://e2.org/reports/clean-economy-works-2025-year-end-analysis/
