Today, after being crowned the "Undisputed Champion of Coal" by an industry lobby group, Donald Trump is signing an executive order directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to purchase electricity from coal plants to power military operations and announced funding to refurbish aging facilities—more moves forcing the American people to bail out a dying, uneconomical, and polluting industry. In response, Evergreen Action Executive Director Lena Moffitt released the following statement:

“The ‘undisputed champion’ of selling out the American people to boost corporate polluter profits strikes again. Let’s be clear about what’s happening here: a coal industry group handed Trump a phony award, and he immediately delivered more of exactly what they crowned him for. Ordering the U.S. military to prop up failing coal plants by turning the Pentagon into a guaranteed revenue stream, while handing out grants to refurbish aging facilities that would otherwise shut down, is a cozy, pay-to-play arrangement that rewards fossil fuel donors at taxpayers’ expense. It shows that nothing is off-limits when it comes to Trump’s abuse of power to pay off the corporations that bankrolled his campaign.

“There’s no coal revival waiting around the corner. Coal plants are aging, unreliable, and wildly expensive to keep running, which is why the market has already rejected them. Pouring taxpayer dollars into extending their lives is like Trump breaking into your home, stealing cash from your wallet, and lighting it on fire—no one benefits, and you’re left poorer than before. Every taxpayer dollar spent keeping these plants online shows up as higher electric bills and higher health costs for families. At the same time, Trump is accelerating his attacks on faster-to-build, cheaper clean energy that could actually help solve the energy affordability crisis. He promised to cut energy prices in half; instead, he’s using the presidency to shovel taxpayer dollars to corporate polluters and make Americans’ lives more expensive.”

###