Forget about clean energy standards and cheap electricity -- we need to get Trump re-elected
Ohio's House of Representatives votes to subsidize coal and nuclear power plants
From Politico:
The Ohio House approved a bill Wednesday to gut clean energy standards and subsidize at-risk nuclear and coal plants after a last-minute push from a Trump reelection official to secure its passage.
Bob Paduchik, a senior adviser to the Trump reelection campaign, made calls Tuesday night to at least five members of the Ohio House of Representatives, pressuring them to vote ‘yes’ on the bill, five people familiar with the outreach told POLITICO. Sources said Paduchik emphasized preserving jobs at the Perry and Davis-Besse nuclear plants, both located in northeastern Ohio on the shores of Lake Erie. Backers of the bill say the plants support a total of 4,000 jobs once contractors and suppliers are added to the mix.
"The message is that if we have these plants shut down we can’t get Trump reelected," said one senior legislative source with knowledge of the conversations. "We’re going into an election year, we can’t lose the jobs."
(I guess Paduchik should get some credit for being honest and not pretending this was about "affordable and reliable electricity.")
Politico seems to think this will also pass the Ohio Senate:
“While we see fewer outspoken supporters in the GOP-controlled State Senate, we think sufficient support among Republicans and Governor Mike DeWine’s (R) advocacy for H.B. 6 could animate approval in the upper chamber,” analyst Tim Fox wrote in a note to clients Wednesday.
Cleveland.com has more on the specifics of the bill.