Climate law: Democrats say GOP debt ceiling plan is a gift to China

The debt ceiling standoff is intensifying partisan fights over the climate law — and both parties are wielding China as a weapon, Ben writes.

Driving the news: Democrats say House Republicans' bid to scuttle many climate law subsidies for low-carbon energy — a condition of their debt proposal — would aid Beijing.

The big picture: They point to the huge wave of climate law-fueled investments in U.S. EV battery manufacturing, a sector China currently dominates.

• Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, in a statement Tuesday, said the GOP plan would "send American manufacturing jobs back to China."
• The Center for American Progress, a group aligned with Democrats, is making the same case this week around batteries and solar manufacturing.

The intrigue: Democratic messaging flips the script on GOP's criticisms of the statute, and other White House policies like new draft vehicle emissions rules.

• One example: A GOP memo alongside a House energy committee hearing yesterday argues the push for aggressive renewables and EV deployment aids China.
• That's because the "rush to green" is outpacing domestic mineral supply chains, boosting dependence on Chinese materials, it claims.

The bottom line: GOP moves to kill climate law tax incentives are unlikely to succeed in the debt ceiling fight.

• But dueling claims around which party's energy policies are better-suited to counter economic and security concerns could easily spill into the 2024 elections.