President-elect Trump’s Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent just schooled a Democrat senator claiming the US is in a clean energy race with China.
Senator Wyden claimed that Trump’s desire to reverse Biden’s clean energy policies is only going to be good for China.
But Bessent reframed the issues properly and schooled Wyden on the fact that we aren’t in a ‘clean energy race’ with China, but rather an ‘energy race’:
Great job by Bessent hammering Dem narrative on “clean energy arms race” with China.
China is building coal and nuclear plants while we tie our hands behind our back by listening to unicorn energy enthusiasts like Wyden pic.twitter.com/MQSV7pI9mB
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) January 16, 2025
Bessent said “Just so we can frame this for everyone in the room, China will build a hundred new coal plants this year. There is not a ‘clean energy race’, there is an energy race. China will build ten nuclear plants this year. That is not solar. I am in favor for more nuclear plants. And I would note that the IRA, as scored by this CBO, is wildly out of control on the upside.”