Sen. John Curtis places hold on Trump nominees over green energy tax credits

Utah Sen. John Curtis has placed holds on at least three of President Donald Trump’s nominees for the Treasury Department until he gets answers on how the department will implement the phaseout of wind and solar tax credits passed last month by Congress, a source familiar with the plans told the Deseret News.

Curtis placed holds on Brian Morrissey, nominee for general counsel of the Treasury; Francis Brooke, nominee to be assistant secretary; and Jonathan McKernan, nominee to be the under secretary. Curtis joins Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who formally announced his holds into the congressional record on Friday, citing concerns with the department’s plans to phase out the tax incentives more quickly than the law allows.

“The Department of the Treasury is expected to issue rules and regulations implementing the agreed upon phase-out of the wind and solar credits by Aug. 18, 2025,” Grassley wrote in the record. “Until I can be certain that such rules and regulations adhere to the law and congressional intent, I intend to continue to object to the consideration of the Treasury nominees.”

The delays come as Trump has pushed Senate Republicans to fast-track his nominees, even initially suggesting lawmakers should cancel their annual August recess to ensure his candidates are confirmed to their positions. However, those efforts were largely thwarted by Democrats — with Grassley’s and Curtis’ holds marking rare Republican pushback to the president’s nomination efforts.

The delayed nominations mark the latest escalation in the fight over wind and solar tax credits, which Curtis and a handful of other Senate Republicans negotiated to preserve in Trump’s massive policy bill. Curtis and Grassley, as well as Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, have requested to meet with Treasury officials for weeks to get more information about how the phaseouts will be implemented, but those requests have gone unanswered, the Deseret News has learned.

Until that information can be shared, Curtis will maintain his holds on the nominees.

The escalation comes after Trump signed an executive order in July directing the federal government to be aggressive in its task to roll back clean energy subsidies, instructing the Treasury to take action it “deems necessary and appropriate” to enforce the termination of the tax incentives.

That language raised questions about whether it allows the Treasury secretary to phase out the green energy tax credits more quickly than the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” permits.

The megabill includes instructions to largely dismantle federal tax incentives for electric cars, wind and solar power usage, and other green energy technologies previously passed by the Biden administration.

However, Curtis and other Senate Republicans managed to include language that would delay expiration of those tax credits, arguing they offer critical support for businesses across the country who will need time to adjust.

The updated bill gives companies a 12-month window to begin construction and still be eligible for the full subsidy. If companies begin construction in that window, they’ll receive the credit for four years after the start date. Those projects would then receive 100% of available subsidies, but must be placed in service by the end of 2027.

The bill says projects that begin after that 12-month deadline must also be completed and placed into service by the end of 2027 to qualify.

However, the executive order directs the Treasury to take any action he or she “deems necessary and appropriate to strictly enforce the termination of the clean electricity production.”

That includes issuing “new and revised guidance” to ensure that projects are not able to get around the strict parameters concerning the “beginning of construction” requirements. The executive order also directs the department to restrict the use of “broad safe harbors” by requiring a substantial portion of the facility to be built.

That has raised concerns it would limit which projects qualify as “started construction.”

“Yes, it’s awful,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, another key advocate of green energy tax credits, told the Deseret News of the order.

North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, who voted against the tax package and announced he would retire next year, also cited concerns about how the executive order would be implemented at the risk of the clean energy industry.

“There are a number of things the administration can do now that they’ve been empowered to basically shut down the industry and make it even more negatively impacted than if they follow the letter of the law,” Tillis said on Wednesday. “We’re trying to see.”

Tillis said he has not spoken to the White House about the order. The Deseret News contacted a spokesperson for the Trump administration but did not receive a response.

The executive order was issued as part of assurances the White House offered to a group of fiscal conservatives in the House to win their support for the full tax reconciliation package, one lawmaker engaged in the talks told the Deseret News.

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., hinted those changes may be coming last week, telling reporters he switched his “no” vote to “yes” after receiving clarification on the green energy tax credits.

House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, who led the drafting and passage of the Trump tax bill, told the Deseret News the executive order merely works in tandem with the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” to ensure “no delay in enforcing and implementing what we put in law in terms of winding down and repealing both the projects and the credits.”

“It’s a commitment to move with speed and purpose, to implement the things that we put into the bill itself,” Arrington said. “I’m not privy to anything beyond that commitment, but that’s a significant commitment in my mind.”

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Cami Mondeaux is the congressional correspondent for the Deseret News covering both the House and Senate. She’s reported on Capitol Hill for over two years covering the latest developments on national news while also diving into the policy issues that directly impact her home state of Utah. In her free time, Cami enjoys exploring new restaurants around town and watching her favorite sports teams lose.