House narrowly OKs spending bill backing Trump energy priorities
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Rep. Chuck Fleischmann in 2024. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
The House voted Thursday by the narrowest of margins to advance a fiscal 2026 spending bill that would codify many of President Trump's nuclear- and fossil fuel-driven "energy dominance" objectives.
Why it matters: The 214-213 vote — which came only after Republicans held the vote open to flip two GOP "nos" to "yes" — shows it won't be easy to advance Trump's energy agenda.
- The energy and water appropriations bill would slash funding for the Energy Department's clean-energy programs while boosting spending for nuclear energy.
Driving the news: The bill — which four GOP lawmakers joined Democrats in opposing — would allocate a total of about $57 billion, a $766 million decrease from fiscal 2025.
- Of that, the Energy Department would get nearly $49 billion, a decrease of more than $1 billion.
- "The bill strengthens our nation's energy security by advancing American leadership and deploying new nuclear technologies and supporting the administration's efforts to make full use of the nation's vast fossil-fuel resources," said Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), who heads Appropriations' energy and water panel.
The other side: Democrats said the bill's failure to adequately fund clean-energy programs hurts efforts to counter rising electricity prices across the country.
- They slammed the 46% cut to DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, which funds wind and solar priorities, and the closure of the agency's Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations financing projects in rural and remote communities.
- "This bill fails to address the reality of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis," said Rep. Marcy Kaptur, the energy and water panel's ranking Democrat.
Lawmakers rejected multiple amendments from Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) that would have eliminated various DOE programs.
- Perry was one of the four Republicans to vote against the bill, joining Pennsylvania's Brian Fitzpatrick, Kentucky's Thomas Massie and California's Tom McClintock.
Between the lines: The bill would increase funding in some areas.
- It would hike spending for the Office of Nuclear Energy to $1.8 billion, boosting money for nuclear fuel enrichment and an advanced reactor demonstration program.
- The agency's Loan Programs Office would also get $150 million for advanced nuclear project financing.
- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission — in the midst of a White House-directed "total and complete reform" — would receive $27.4 billion, slightly higher than current funding.
What's next: The Senate will take up the bill next. But it must overcome an impasse between Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy, who chairs its energy spending panel, and Appropriations Committee leaders over funding levels.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to add the Republicans who opposed the bill.
