Invoices worth tens of millions of dollars are piling up at DOE's Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, deepening some employees' fears that the Trump administration seeks to dismantle existing programs, Daniel writes.

Why it matters: The freeze of already-obligated IRA and infrastructure law funding complicates the all-of-the-above bipartisan message of DOE nominee Chris Wright, who's expected to easily win Senate confirmation today.

• OCED, created by the infrastructure law, oversees a $27 billion portfolio that includes hydrogen, carbon capture, industrial decarbonization, advanced nuclear, energy storage and projects in rural and remote communities.

Several department employees who spoke to Daniel on condition of anonymity believe OCED's overseers are looking for the poorest projects in its portfolio to give Wright options to eliminate or reprogram funding for President Trump's priorities.

• Employees are "crossing our fingers that [Wright] will come in with a more level head and some clear direction," one DOE employee said.

Zoom in: Office employees have been called into meetings to justify how projects are in line with the president's policies, according to people familiar with the matter and memos obtained by Axios.

• DOE leadership has required staff and funding recipients to scrap community benefits plans, a required component of DOE applications that includes workforce development.
• Wright has promised a "full review" of community benefits plans. Senate Energy Chair Mike Lee suggested those plans "could require discrimination and other actions of dubious legality."
• The plans were occasionally the deciding factor between two similar projects, one DOE person said.

The agency has put OCED contracts on hold that are crucial to overseeing the programs and jeopardizing project reviews this summer, another employee said.

• It has barred employees from proactively communicating with awardees, traveling to sites and fulfilling invoices, according to an internal email.

Between the lines: Staffers said they have gotten little feedback from new OCED director Cathy Tripodi, an Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy office official under Trump 1.0.

• Nor have they heard much from OCED adviser Curt Coccodrilli, who served in the first Trump administration as USDA director of rural development in Pennsylvania.
• Friday's court order temporarily blocking Trump's funding pause could allow the DOE to fulfill invoices, but OCED staff is still waiting on departmental direction.

The DOE media office and Tripodi and Coccodrilli didn't return requests for comment.

The big picture: The internal whiplash at DOE is further evidence of the chaos and confusion that Trump's funding freeze has caused.

• Congressional Republicans promised the party would approach the IRA with a scalpel, not a sledgehammer.

The funding freeze is reverberating through climate-related spending across the government, despite another court order Friday blocking it, Nick writes.

Why it matters: It's causing uncertainty for states and nonprofits that have already had IRA and IIJA-funded grants awarded.

• Even if funding is restored, questions remain about how these programs will be implemented moving forward.

Zoom in: Multiple state departments of transportation have paused implementation of their programs under the IIJA-funded National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Program.

• That includes Alabama, which says on a state website that the program is on hold as of Jan. 28.
• Andreas Weber, advanced mobility coordinator for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, confirmed in an email this morning that the state has "paused all NEVI activities until further guidance is received."

And last week, awardees under EPA's Solar for All program — funded by the IRA — had disbursement of their contracted grants paused.

• As of 9:30am today, access to Treasury's Automated Standard Application for Payments system had not been restored for recipients, according to Zealan Hoover, who led implementation of the program under the Biden administration.

What we're watching: In issuing a temporary restraining order, U.S. District Judge John McConnell cited an email that EPA sent to grant awardees "pausing all activities" related to obligation and disbursement as evidence that agencies continued to carry out the freeze despite OMB rescinding the initial memo.

• "I'm looking to see either payments turned back on today or very clear, unambiguous guidance from EPA to its grantees on an expeditious timeline to restore payment access," Hoover told Nick.
• Asked for comment, EPA deferred to the Department of Justice, which did not immediately respond.

👀 1. In the Wright: The Senate is set to confirm prospective Energy Secretary Chris Wright this evening after clearing a procedural hurdle late last week.

• Senators will also vote to continue with Russell Vought's nomination to lead OMB.

🌲 2. Rollins forward: Also this evening, the Senate Agriculture Committee will vote on Brooke Rollins' nomination to be Ag secretary.

⚡️ 3. Opening message: House Energy and Commerce's energy subcommittee will hold its first hearing of the new Congress on Wednesday.

• Trump's tariffs on Mexico are now paused, but we'll be watching to see how Republicans handle any energy-related fallout from the levies on Canada.

♻️ 4. Organizational skills: Senate Environment and Public Works will hold a markup Wednesday to organize its rules for the new Congress and advance two bills — the Brownfields Reauthorization Act and recycling legislation.

⛏️ 5. Pun party: A House Natural Resources subcommittee will hold a hearing Thursday on domestic mining entitled "Now Ore Never."

• We wish we'd thought of that for this newsletter feature!

🧐 6. Dem IG demands: Reps. Jared Huffman and Maxine Dexter led a letter requesting a House Natural Resources hearing into Trump's firing of inspectors general from various agencies.