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Trump has said he would rescind unspent funds from Biden's

climate law

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Trump allies, fundraisers benefit from the IRA's key tax

credits

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At least 7 allies, or the companies they run, hold

investments

in projects eligible for IRA subsidies

By Valerie Volcovici and Gram Slattery

WASHINGTON, Oct 25 (Reuters) -

Donald Trump has promised to gut U.S. President Joe Biden's

climate subsidies if elected. But many of Trump's allies are

benefiting from them thanks to big investments in solar power,

electric vehicles, carbon sequestration, hydrogen and other

clean energy technologies.

Reuters found at least seven of Trump's close allies and

fundraisers, or the firms they run, hold hundreds of millions of

dollars-worth of stakes in companies that are significant

beneficiaries of the tax breaks embedded in the Inflation

Reduction Act, Biden's signature climate law.

They include Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner; his former

ambassador to China and continued ally Terry Branstad; and

companies run by informal energy advisor and oil mogul Harold

Hamm and powerful booster Howard Lutnick.

Big oil companies like Occidental Petroleum ( OXY ) and

Energy Transfer ( ET ), whose CEOs hosted a May fundraiser in

Houston for Trump's campaign with Hamm, also hold major

investments in projects that may only be viable if Biden's clean

energy tax credits survive.

And Tesla, whose founder and CEO Elon Musk has been

boosting Trump's campaign, is also benefiting massively from the

IRA's EV and solar credits.

Together, these people and companies hold billions of

dollars in investments that qualify for the IRA's lucrative tax

credits and stand to lose big if Trump is able to follow through

on his promise to gut Biden's climate law, according to Reuters

reporting.

The investments are important because they raise the

likelihood some of Trump's allies may ask him to preserve

aspects of Biden's climate law if he wins the November election

against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. That would add

influential voices to some of the trade groups and lawmakers

that have already stood up in favor of specific IRA subsidies.

None of the people or companies identified by Reuters were

willing to comment for this story on whether they would

intervene to preserve parts of the IRA.

For the time being, Trump's intentions are clear.

"My plan will terminate the Green New Deal, which I call the

Green New Scam, and rescind all unspent funds under the misnamed

Inflation Reduction Act," Trump said when he unveiled elements

of his economic policy platform in a speech in September.

Trump Campaign Senior Adviser Brian Hughes told Reuters the

IRA has contributed to inflation and expanded the federal

government's deficit, but did not provide detail on how Trump

would deal with the IRA if he regains the White House.

Rescinding any part of the IRA would require an act of

Congress.

A group of 18 Republican lawmakers representing districts

that have drawn IRA-linked investments sent a letter to House

Speaker Mike Johnson in August urging him against revoking all

of the IRA if the party wins control of the House and Senate.

The White House said the IRA created more than 330,000 jobs

and that gutting it would harm investments made in Republican

states.

"By some estimates, more of this investment is occurring in

red and purple states," White House spokesperson Angelo

Fernandez said.

The Biden administration has already worked to give out the

vast majority of IRA grants, but the law's tax credits are set

to continue for years.

Other investors and companies involved in clean energy

projects are hopeful that Trump's campaign rhetoric gives way to

practicality, should he win in November.

"Innovators and energy companies we work with want policy

predictability. They are making hundreds of millions in

investments because of the IRA," said Jeremy Harrell, CEO of

Washington-based conservative clean energy organization

ClearPath.

Frank Wolak, president of the Fuel Cell & Hydrogen Energy

Association, said it will be essential for Congress to protect

the tax credits if Trump wins the election.

"We're going to just do some hard educating on the IRA to

our congressional allies," he said.

ALLIES WITH IRA BENEFITS

- MOSAIC

Trump's son-in-law and former presidential adviser Kushner's

private equity fund Affinity Partners in 2022 invested $200

million in Mosaic, a California-based provider of financing for

solar energy and home efficiency improvements, according to

investment data provider PitchBook.

Founded in 2011 as a crowdfunding startup, the company got a

boost from the IRA's 30% tax credit for residential solar, as

well as its consumer incentives for solar panels, electric heat

pumps and other efficiencies by raising consumer interest for

its clean energy loans.

- SUMMIT CARBON SOLUTIONS

Oil magnate Harold Hamm has long been an energy adviser and

political financier for Republican politicians, including Trump,

and in May hosted a Houston fundraiser for Trump's third

presidential campaign.

His company Continental Resources in 2022 made a $250

million strategic investment into Summit Carbon Solutions, a

carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) project that will capture

CO2 from ethanol plants and other industrial sources in the

Midwest.

That project relies on the 45Q tax credit for various forms

of CCS, which the IRA increased sharply across the board.

Though the project was proposed before the IRA was signed in

2022, the enhanced tax credits could yield a $2.9 billion

windfall for Summit's investors, according to Jake Schwitzer,

director of policy group North Star Policy Action.

Former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, who served as Trump's

ambassador to China and remains a staunch ally, is Summit's

chief policy advisor.

- TESLA

Tesla is a massive beneficiary of IRA tax credits. The

electric vehicle and solar company called the package a

"significant boost towards accelerating our mission" shortly

after it passed into law in 2022, despite CEO Musk's public

hostility toward subsidies.

- OCCIDENTAL PETROLEUM ( OXY )

Occidental CEO Vicki Hollub co-hosted the Texas fundraiser

for Trump in May, which helped rake in tens of millions for

Trump's campaign.

Occidental is a beneficiary of the 45Q carbon capture tax

credit and is a recipient of an Energy Department grant of

nearly $1 billion to build a direct air capture (DAC) hub to

demonstrate that nascent technology at scale. The company has

touted its strategy to market so-called "net-zero" barrels of

oil.

In May, Hollub said in a statement to Reuters: "I have been

talking to policymakers on both sides of the aisle, and will

continue to talk to them, to express our support for 45Q,

because it will help develop technologies like direct air

capture which remove carbon dioxide emissions from the

atmosphere and protect America's energy security."

- ENERGY TRANSFER ( ET )

Energy Transfer's ( ET ) CEO Kelcy Warren is a long-time supporter

of Trump. The pipeline operator also participates in projects

supported by IRA tax credits, including two planned Louisiana

CCS hubs, and a hydrogen hub in Texas that recently won just

over $1 billion in Energy Department funding.

- CANTOR FITZGERALD

Trump's transition team co-chair Howard Lutnick is the CEO

of Cantor Fitzgerald, a major financial services firm that has

made significant investments in companies that benefit from the

IRA.

As transition co-chair, Lutnick is playing a key role in the

search for high-level appointees to staff a potential Trump

administration, and he has also served as a high-dollar

fundraiser for Trump.

Among the companies that Cantor Fitzgerald has invested in

that have benefited significantly from the IRA are Invenergy, a

renewable energy firm that is the top constituent of the Cantor

Fitzgerald Infrastructure Fund.

The infrastructure fund has over $150 million in total net

assets, according to a July press release, and its investment in

Invenergy consists of 14.65% of that fund's total investments.

The fund is also heavily invested in NextEra Energy,

the largest U.S. renewable energy developer.

Both companies have praised the IRA as helpful to their

businesses.

Cantor Fitzgerald has over $13 billion in assets under

management and provides a wide array of financial services.