How JD Vance’s VP selection could influence American energy policy

The upcoming presidential election is poised to significantly influence how Americans receive their electricity. With former President Donald Trump’s selection of J.D. Vance as his vice-presidential running mate, the specifics of a potential Trump energy policy are coming into sharper focus.

Vance has expressed a desire to do away with the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a cornerstone of President Biden’s climate policy. However, both Vance’s state of Ohio and several companies in which he has investments have financially benefited from the clean energy funding provided by the IRA.

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The senator has consistently criticized carbon-free power infrastructure, such as wind and solar energy. He argues that the Biden administration has unfairly subsidized these renewable energy sources while undermining what he considers the nation’s most reliable energy sources: oil and gas.

“The Biden administration is doing everything it can to subsidize alternative energy sources and demonize our nation’s most reliable sources of power,” Vance wrote in a 2023 op-ed for Ohio’s Marietta Times. “The Biden years have thus far been defined by his administration’s wanton harassment of fossil fuel companies, to the detriment of the American people. A war on traditional American energy is a war on the American standard of living.”

In the 2022 election cycle, Vance received around $300,000 from the oil industry, making him the 19th highest recipient among the 91 members of Congress who accepted contributions from this sector. A spokesperson for the Ohio Oil and Gas Association anticipates that Vance will continue advocating for the industry’s interests if Trump is reelected, citing his congressional voting record as a strong indicator.

Vance co-sponsored the Power Act in 2023, which aims to require presidential approval from Congress before delaying leasing or permitting for oil, gas, and mining activities on federal lands. He also co-sponsored the STOVE Act, which was designed to prevent federal agencies from issuing regulations that would ban gas stoves and other appliances, a reaction to the Energy Department’s recent efficiency standards.

“Many of our elected leaders are telling Americans that we need to make do with less, that the days of cheap and reliable power are over. I vehemently disagree,” Vance wrote. “Our government should reverse these dangerous trends and unleash our energy industry by investing the type of infrastructure projects that have kept America’s lights on for decades.”

Additionally, Vance introduced the Drive American Act last year, proposing the repeal of the Biden administration’s $7,500 tax credits for American-made electric vehicles. Instead, this bill suggests offering similar credits exclusively to U.S.-made vehicles powered by gas and diesel.

“Right now, the official policy of the Biden administration is to spend billions of dollars on subsidies for electric vehicles made overseas,” Vance said in a statement. “We can secure a bright future for American autoworkers by passing this legislation and reversing the misguided policies of the Biden administration.”