It’s well known that once President-elect Trump is sworn in, many programs funding the development of clean energy technology will be cut with haste. But it’s still November and President Joe Biden’s administration is making a point to spend as much funding from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) as possible in the time left.

The White House even created an easy-to-read fact sheet about which IRA funding opportunities are still open and the associated timelines.

Still, come Jan. 20, associated IRA and BIL tax credits, grants, and funding programs are vulnerable. And it seems almost certain that the IRA’s electric vehicle credit is destined to fall as a casualty to cuts, other credits and programs on the chopping block are still up in the air.

“It is difficult to say with 100 percent certainty that anything is safe from the Trump Administration’s chopping block,” said Jillian Blanchard, director of the climate change and environmental justice program at lawyers for good government, “funds that have been announced, but not obligated are most at risk, while funds that have been obligated or are conditionally awarded are slightly less vulnerable.”

Given President-elect Trump’s vow to dismantle the Inflation Reduction Act, some communities are concerned about their applications for climate and environmental justice funding. Jillian Blanchard of Lawyers for Good Government talks with Living on Earth’s Aynsley O’Neill about what’s on the line and why bipartisan support for the IRA may help preserve some federal support.

Jillian Blanchard, who leads the climate change and environmental justice program at Lawyers for Good Government, a nonprofit legal advocacy group, said the group is working to make sure dollars earmarked for clean energy projects under the Inflation Reduction Act can’t be easily clawed back by a new administration.

“We worked with a lot of the federal grantees who either have gotten the money or are announced to receive money,” Blanchard said, describing her group’s efforts to help those clients expedite the payment process and navigate any regulatory compliance issues that arise.

“We intend to continue that work to make sure that that money goes out the door to those intended grantees, whether it’s for climate justice, tackling the climate crisis, environmental justice, transit, etc.,” she added.

Some state legislators and environmental advocates expect the Trump administration to rescind at least some federal funding, particularly for environmental justice programs. 

“I’m sure the Trump administration is going to try and pull those [funds] away,” said Jillian Blanchard, director of the climate change and environmental program at Lawyers for Good Government, a nonprofit advocacy group. “We are tracking a lot of the environmental justice grants that didn’t go to the state, to communities within Maryland and across the country, to make sure and help those grantees get all of those funds obligated before a Trump administration takes over.”