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<p>The Inflation Reduction Act dedicated $27 billion to build a new kind of climate institution in America — a network of national green banks that could lend money to companies, states, schools, churches, and housing developers to build more clean energy and deploy more next-generation energy technology around the country.</p><br><p>It was an innovative and untested program. And the Trump administration is desperately trying to block it. Since February, Trump’s criminal justice appointees — led by Ed Martin, the interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia — have tried to use criminal law to undo the program. After failing to get the FBI and Justice Department to block the flow of funds, Trump officials have successfully gotten the program’s bank partner to freeze relevant money. The new green banks have sued to gain access to the money.</p><br><p>On this week’s episode of Shift Key, Rob and Jesse talk with <a href="https://www.aspenideas.org/speakers/kristina-costa" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kristina Costa</a>, who has been tracking the effort to bankrupt the green banks. Costa helped lead the Inflation Reduction Act’s implementation in the White House from 2022 to 2025 — and is a previous Shift Key guest. She joins us to discuss how Trump is weaponing criminal law to block a climate program, whether there’s any precedent for his actions, and what could come next in the legal battle. Shift Key is hosted by Robinson Meyer, the founding executive editor of Heatmap, and Jesse Jenkins, a professor of energy systems engineering at Princeton University.</p><br><p>Mentioned:&nbsp;</p><br><p><a href="https://heatmap.news/podcast/shift-key-s2-e7-ggrf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Hardest Working $27 Billion in the IRA</a></p><br><p><a href="https://heatmap.news/podcast/shift-key-s2-e17-kristina-costa" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">How Democrats Are Trying to Trump-Proof Their Big Climate Law</a></p><br><p>Washington Post: <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2025/02/18/federal-prosecutor-dc-resigns/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Top-ranking career prosecutor resigns after declining to block FBI program</a></p><br><p>Denise Cheung’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/02/18/read-resignation-letter-denise-cheung/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">resignation letter</a></p><br><p><a href="https://www.iea.org/news/growth-in-global-energy-demand-surged-in-2024-to-almost-twice-its-recent-average" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jesse’s</a> <a href="https://www.irena.org/News/pressreleases/2025/Mar/Record-Breaking-Annual-Growth-in-Renewable-Power-Capacity" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">upshift</a>; <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/earth/arctic-winter-sea-ice-at-record-low/#:~:text=Winter%20sea%20ice%20cover%20in,the%20University%20of%20Colorado%2C%20Boulder." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rob’s downshift</a>.</p><br><p>--</p><p>Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

Shift Key with Robinson Meyer and Jesse Jenkins

Heatmap News

The Least-Noticed Climate Scandal of the Trump Administration

APR 2, 202549 MIN
Shift Key with Robinson Meyer and Jesse Jenkins

The Least-Noticed Climate Scandal of the Trump Administration

APR 2, 202549 MIN

Description

<p>The Inflation Reduction Act dedicated $27 billion to build a new kind of climate institution in America — a network of national green banks that could lend money to companies, states, schools, churches, and housing developers to build more clean energy and deploy more next-generation energy technology around the country.</p><br><p>It was an innovative and untested program. And the Trump administration is desperately trying to block it. Since February, Trump’s criminal justice appointees — led by Ed Martin, the interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia — have tried to use criminal law to undo the program. After failing to get the FBI and Justice Department to block the flow of funds, Trump officials have successfully gotten the program’s bank partner to freeze relevant money. The new green banks have sued to gain access to the money.</p><br><p>On this week’s episode of Shift Key, Rob and Jesse talk with <a href="https://www.aspenideas.org/speakers/kristina-costa" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kristina Costa</a>, who has been tracking the effort to bankrupt the green banks. Costa helped lead the Inflation Reduction Act’s implementation in the White House from 2022 to 2025 — and is a previous Shift Key guest. She joins us to discuss how Trump is weaponing criminal law to block a climate program, whether there’s any precedent for his actions, and what could come next in the legal battle. Shift Key is hosted by Robinson Meyer, the founding executive editor of Heatmap, and Jesse Jenkins, a professor of energy systems engineering at Princeton University.</p><br><p>Mentioned:&nbsp;</p><br><p><a href="https://heatmap.news/podcast/shift-key-s2-e7-ggrf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Hardest Working $27 Billion in the IRA</a></p><br><p><a href="https://heatmap.news/podcast/shift-key-s2-e17-kristina-costa" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">How Democrats Are Trying to Trump-Proof Their Big Climate Law</a></p><br><p>Washington Post: <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2025/02/18/federal-prosecutor-dc-resigns/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Top-ranking career prosecutor resigns after declining to block FBI program</a></p><br><p>Denise Cheung’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/02/18/read-resignation-letter-denise-cheung/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">resignation letter</a></p><br><p><a href="https://www.iea.org/news/growth-in-global-energy-demand-surged-in-2024-to-almost-twice-its-recent-average" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jesse’s</a> <a href="https://www.irena.org/News/pressreleases/2025/Mar/Record-Breaking-Annual-Growth-in-Renewable-Power-Capacity" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">upshift</a>; <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/earth/arctic-winter-sea-ice-at-record-low/#:~:text=Winter%20sea%20ice%20cover%20in,the%20University%20of%20Colorado%2C%20Boulder." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rob’s downshift</a>.</p><br><p>--</p><p>Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>