Bernie Sanders is outraged that Trump ended $7 billion solar 'boondoggle' he passed under Biden
Carlos Garcia
August 08, 2025
Solar subsidy recipients say they will challenge the decision in the courts.
The Trump administration is celebrating saving $7 billion for taxpayers by ending solar subsidies, but Sen. Bernie Sanders (I) of Vermont is incensed that a program he backed is ending.
Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin announced the closing down of the Solar for All program that had funneled federal funding to pay for residential solar projects. The program was passed during former President Joe Biden's term.
'Trump wants to illegally kill this program to protect the obscene profits of his friends in the oil and gas industry. That is outrageous.'
"The bottom line is this: EPA no longer has the statutory authority to administer the program or the appropriated funds to keep this boondoggle alive," Zeldin said in a statement on social media Thursday. "Today, the Trump EPA is announcing that we are ending Solar for All for good, saving US taxpayers ANOTHER $7 BILLION!"
Sanders had introduced the program in 2023 and said it was part of the effort to combat the "existential" threat of global climate change.
"I introduced the Solar for All program to slash electric bills for working families by up to 80% — putting money back in the pockets of ordinary Americans, not fossil fuel billionaires," wrote Sanders in a statement on his website.
"Now, Donald Trump wants to illegally kill this program to protect the obscene profits of his friends in the oil and gas industry. That is outrageous," he added.
"Solar for All means lower utility bills, many thousands of good-paying jobs, and real action to address the existential threat of climate change," Sanders continued. "At a time when working families are getting crushed by skyrocketing energy costs and the planet is literally burning, sabotaging this program isn’t just wrong — it’s absolutely insane."
The program had spent only $53 million of the $7 billion allocated, according to a research firm. Critics of the decision claimed that the EPA had overstepped its authority.
"These grants are delivering billions of dollars of investment to red and blue states alike," said Solar Energy Industries Association Vice President Stephanie Bosh. "This administration is continuing to dig itself into a hole."
“Trump is — yet again — putting his fossil fuel megadonors first,” said Democrat Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, who is on the Senate Environment Committee.
Sanders promised to fight to protect the program.
Carlos Garcia
Staff Writer
Carlos Garcia is a staff writer for Blaze News.
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