Illustration: Brendan Lynch / Axios
Some Senate Finance Committee Republicans are open to moderating House-passed IRA rollbacks on nuclear and geothermal as they start reconciliation talks.
Why it matters: Support from a broader range of Republicans — beyond the four GOP senators who have already publicly defended the energy credits — indicates that those two energy sources could get a longer runway.
- Such a move would bake into the tax code the GOP's strategy of attacking more intermittent wind and solar as unreliable sources that don't deserve more subsidies.
What they're saying: "We haven't settled on the final list of options, but I would be in the camp that doesn't think we need [to do] a full repeal and instead can live with a circumscribed, narrower version of the existing IRA credits," Sen. Todd Young, a Finance member, told reporters.
- Sen. John Curtis told me that a longer phaseout for certain types of power is "certainly part of the conversation, but nobody's been highly specific" yet.
- "I'm trying to just encourage everybody to be thoughtful," Curtis said.
James Lankford, another Finance member, told reporters he would support a longer phaseout period for baseload power, which operates continuously and covers nuclear and geothermal.
- Subsidizing wind and solar "to the detriment of baseload power makes the grid more vulnerable," he said.
Between the lines: The best-case scenario for IRA supporters is making delicate tweaks to some of the tax credit phaseouts and placed-in-service rules.
- There's no sign that Republicans are willing to blow up President Trump's tax agenda over the energy credits (even if Elon Musk is trying to do it with posts on X.)
State of play: Private capital firms with investments in over 3,100 U.S. companies are lobbying Finance Committee Republicans today.
- Seven investment firms plan to meet with Curtis and Lankford, as well as with Sens. John Cornyn, Tim Scott, and Bill Cassidy.
- The aim is to spotlight the "on-the-ground impact of federal energy tax credits on growth, competitiveness, and local economies," a spokesperson for the group said.
Finance Chair Mike Crapo said the talks were just beginning and wouldn't comment directly on the discussions.
What's next: I'm watching for reconciliation text from committees, which could drop in the coming days.
- Chuck Grassley, another committee member representing a windy state, said to check back with him in a week on the IRA energy credits' fate.
