WASHINGTON (February 11, 2026)-Today, the Trump administration announced a series of initiatives attempting to prop up struggling coal-fired power plants. This includes an executive order directing the Defense Department to pursue contracts for electricity from coal-fired power plants, as well as approximately $500 million in taxpayer funding for recommissioning and upgrading a handful of U.S. coal plants. Alongside, President Trump received an inaugural award from a pro-coal lobby group.

Below is a statement by Julie McNamara, associate policy director of the Climate and Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).

"What a staggering, staggering waste of money, time and opportunity.

"People and businesses across the country are struggling with rapidly escalating electricity costs. The country has real solutions at hand-yet instead of pushing ahead with investments in the fastest, cheapest, cleanest resources available, the Trump administration is actively doing everything it can to stop the deployment of new solar and wind projects, to stop investments in energy efficiency, and to stop the buildout of modern grid infrastructure.

"Reality doesn't lie: coal is a rapidly dwindling relic of the past, not a solution for the future. The Trump administration's flailings come with real consequences. Forcing the use of increasingly unreliable and relentlessly uneconomic coal plants will risk outages and send high electricity costs higher. Recklessly slashing health, safety and environmental standards will harm people's health and the environment. And opting for hollow statements and short-term bailouts fails to meaningfully deliver for the coal-dependent communities requiring actual, durable transition solutions.

"The art of the deal: for President Trump, a trophy; for real people, real costs."