Accounting
Trump’s push to eliminate electric vehicle tax credits hits GOP lawmakers’ home states
President-elect Donald Trump’s vow to repeal subsidies for electric vehicles risks pushing Republican congressional allies into conflict with their home-district economic interests.
The once-and-future president campaigned on promises to eliminate incentives for EVs, a signature policy of the Biden administration. That threatens billions of dollars in investments and thousands of current and promised jobs at EV facilities, many of which are located in states aligned with the GOP.
Republicans represent congressional districts with 19 of 25 major automaker battery and EV assembly plants in operation or under construction, according to an analysis by Bloomberg. Most of the remaining facilities in Democratic Party-represented districts are in states which supported Trump in November’s election.
Trump has made rescinding President Joe Biden’s pro-EV initiatives a key plank of his economic platform. In his address at the Republican National Convention in July,
Such a move could be tricky with Republicans poised to hold slim majorities in Congress next year. Lawmakers are in a tough spot choosing between loyalty to Trump and constituent interests. Biden chided legislators facing that dilemma in a speech earlier this week at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
“The historic investments we made went to more red states than blue states,” he said. “Will the next president stop a new electric battery factory in Liberty, North Carolina, that will create thousands of jobs?”
That question may weigh heavily on Richard Hudson, a Republican congressman representing the North Carolina district where Toyota Motor Corp. spent $14 billion on a lithium-ion battery plant
Hudson, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, isn’t showing his hand.
“We’ll look at all of that,” he told Bloomberg when asked about Trump’s plans for the IRA and other Biden-era policies.
Carmaker political clout
Among the reasons carmakers flocked to Republican-leaning states are lower labor and land costs, as well as increased clout with GOP lawmakers — a hedge against shifting political winds in Washington.
The auto industry is anxious to pare back what it views as overly burdensome Biden policies in areas such as fuel economy standards. But it doesn’t want to jeopardize EV investments. Beyond buyer subsidies, the IRA also provides tax credits for
Albert Gore, the executive director of the Zero Emission Transportation Association and the son of former Vice President Al Gore, said he expects some level of federal aid for EVs to survive the incoming administration.
“We’re past election season,” he said. “There’s an understanding and certainly a willingness to try to do right by any of the constituents that will be affected by any changes to these policies.”
Conflicted lawmakers may try to thread a needle by presenting more nuanced proposals.
Those Republicans could “present different policy options that strike a careful balancing act over how many of these jobs could be lost,” said Ron Bonjean, a Republican strategist and former House and Senate leadership aide.
GOP Rep. Brett Guthrie of Kentucky, the incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, wants to halt tax credits for EV buyers and new funding for battery plants — but not go back on promises already made.
“We have to look at it with a scalpel and not necessarily a sledge hammer,” Guthrie told Bloomberg, noting Ford Motor Co. has invested in EV battery plants in his district. “There are businesses that made investments based on what the law was. We need to look at that,” he said.
Letter campaigns
Eighteen House Republican lawmakers signed an August
And the head of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, the auto industry’s biggest lobbying group, petitioned Trump to keep EV and other auto-related tax credits in a separate letter.
But the president-elect hasn’t shown any signs of backing down.
His advisors already are planning to reexamine tailpipe emission standards imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency as well as stringent fuel economy requirements finalized in June,
Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors.
This week’s stats focus in part on the job titles seeing the greatest losses at the IRS during layoffs; as well as the states that have proposed or passed alternatives to the 150-hour rule; the percentage of master’s in accounting program applicants since 2020; the number of PwC employees laid off in May; the projected size of Deloitte’s new New York City headquarters; and the amount of 2026 HSA annual contribution limits, depending on coverage.
CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. said U.S. officials have asked for information related to the accounting of deals it’s made with some customers and said the cybersecurity firm is cooperating with the inquiry.
The Austin, Texas-based company said in a filing Wednesday that it has gotten “requests for information” from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission “relating to the company’s recognition of revenue and reporting of ARR for transactions with certain customers.” ARR refers to annual recurring revenue, a measure of earnings from subscriptions.
The company said the federal officials have also sought information related to a CrowdStrike update last year that crashed Windows operating systems around the world.
“The company is cooperating and providing information in response to these requests,” the filing states.
U.S. prosecutors and regulators have been investigating a $32 million deal between CrowdStrike and a technology distributor, Carahsoft Technology Corp., to provide cybersecurity tools to the Internal Revenue Service, Bloomberg News first reported in February. The IRS never purchased or received the products, Bloomberg News
The investigators are probing what senior CrowdStrike executives may have known about the $32 million deal and are examining other transactions made by the cybersecurity firm, Bloomberg News
Asked for comment about the filing, CrowdStrike spokesperson Brian Merrill said, “As we have told Bloomberg repeatedly, this is old news and we stand by the accounting of the transaction.”
A lawyer for Carahsoft previously declined to comment on the federal investigations, and representatives didn’t respond to subsequent requests for comment about them.
Tech titan Elon Musk ratcheted up his offensive against Donald Trump’s signature tax bill on Wednesday, urging that Americans contact their lawmakers to “KILL” the legislation.
“Call your Senator, Call your Congressman,” Musk wrote in a
The post came one day after Musk lashed out at the tax bill, describing it as a budget-busting “disgusting abomination” as Republican fiscal hawks stepped up criticism of the massive fiscal package.
Trump hasn’t publicly responded to Musk’s comments, but the White House put out a statement Wednesday saying the legislation “unleashes an era of unprecedented economic growth.”
And House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that Musk is “dead wrong” about the bill and that the tax cuts will pay for themselves through economic growth.
Musk’s public condemnation pits him against the president at a critical time as Trump is personally lobbying holdouts on the bill. His campaign against the legislation threatens to stiffen resistance and delay enactment of the tax cuts and debt ceiling increase.
Musk has attacked the legislation days after leaving a temporary assignment leading the administration’s Department of Government Efficiency initiative to cut federal spending. The Tesla Inc. chief executive officer’s high-profile role in the Trump administration eroded his business brand and sales of his company’s electric vehicles plunged.
The House-passed version of the tax and spending bill would add $2.4 trillion to U.S. budget deficits over the next decade, according to an
The CBO’s calculation reflects a $3.67 trillion decrease in expected revenues and a $1.25 trillion decline in spending over the decade through 2034, relative to baseline projections. The score doesn’t account for any potential boost to the economy from the bill, which Johnson and Trump argue would offset the revenue losses.
Musk, the world’s richest man with a net worth of about $377 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, has become a crucial financial backer of the Republican party. After making modest donations most years, Musk became the biggest U.S. political donor in 2024, giving more than $290 million.
Johnson said Musk had promised to help reelect Republicans just a day before savaging Trump’s bill. Musk did not respond to a request for comment.
Most of Musk’s giving was aimed at electing Trump but he also supported congressional candidates. America PAC, the super political action committee that Musk largely funded, spent $18.5 million in 17 separate House races. Though that total pales in comparison to the roughly $255 million he spent backing Trump, the spending means a lot in a congressional election, where challengers on average raise less than $1 million.
Control of the House will likely be decided by the outcome of fewer than two dozen close races in the 2026 midterm elections. The GOP’s chances of holding their majority would suffer a major blow if Musk were to withdraw his financial support.
-
Economics1 week agoElon Musk says Trump’s spending bill undermines the work DOGE has been doing
-
Accounting1 week agoHighest paid jobs in corporate accounting
-
Blog Post5 days agoCommon Bookkeeping Challenges and Solutions for Small Businesses
-
Economics1 week agoHow young voters helped to put Trump in the White House
-
Personal Finance1 week agoHarvard, Trump international enrollment battle affects college applicants
-
Economics6 days agoWhy the president must not be lexicographer-in-chief
-
Personal Finance1 week agoCrypto in 401(k) plans: Trump administration eases rules
-
Finance1 week agoVail Resorts, GameStop and more