Those who drew hope from the letter 18 House Republicans sent to Speaker Mike Johnson last August calling for the preservation of energy tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act must be jubilant this morning. On Sunday, 21 House Republicans sent a similar letter to House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith. Those with sharp eyes will have noticed: That’s three more people than signed the letter last time, indicating that this is a coalition with teeth.
As Heatmap reported in the aftermath of November’s election, four of the original signatories were out of a job as of January, meaning that the new letter features a total of seven new recruits. So who are they?
- Vince Fong, California 20th: Fong fills the seat once held by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who resigned in 2023 following the congressional mutiny that led to Johnson’s ascension as speaker. The district is also one of the most renewables-dense in California, with 5 gigawatts of planned or operating solar and more than 3 gigawatts of wind, according to the Heatmap Pro database.
- Gabe Evans, Colorado 8th: A former state representative, he defeated incumbent Yadira Caraveo in November’s election. While Caraveo had earned the support of numerous environmental groups, Evans was backed by Americans for Prosperity, a longtime foe of climate legislation. That said, he won his district by less than 1% of the vote, and has attempted to strike an “all of the above” note in a recent interview with Fox News, praising his own district for making “some of the cleanest and most environmentally responsible energy anywhere on the planet.”
- Jeff Hurd, Colorado 3rd: This was the district formerly represented by Republican Lauren Boebert, who decided to run in a different district in 2024 to better her chances for re-election. Of the two candidates who ran for the Republican nomination, Hurd was considered the establishment pick, and ran on an all-of-the-above energy platform. His district is home to almost 1.4 gigawatts of solar generation, with nearly another gigawatt already in the pipeline.
- John James, Michigan 10th: As a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee during the previous Congress, James led an effort to repeal the Biden administration’s restrictions on car tailpipe emissions. Then last fall, Stellantis announced $400 million of investment in Michigan to support low-emission vehicle manufacturing, including more than $235 million to convert the Sterling Heights Assembly plant in James’ district to produce the Ram 1500 extended range EV, among other low- and no-emission vehicles.
- Ryan Mackenzie, Pennsylvania 7th: Mackenzie defeated Democrat Susan Wild in one of the key House races of 2024. Curiously, Mackenzie had attacked Wild repeatedly during the campaign for supporting the “failed” Inflation Reduction Act.
- Rob Bresnahan, Jr., Pennsylvania 8th: Like his neighbor, Mackenzie, Bresnahan also campaigned against his opponent’s climate record, accusing six-term incumbent Democrat Matt Cartwright of kowtowing to the “climate crazies.” Just last week, Bresnahan hosted Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin for a roundtable on “energy dominance.”
- Dan Newhouse, Washington 4th: The longest-serving member of this group by far, Newhouse was first elected to Congress in 2003, took a six-year break to serve as the state’s director of agriculture, and was then reelected to the House in 2015 to a seat he has successfully defended in each subsequent election. Newhouse voted against the IRA in 2022 (the bill received no Republican support), but as money has flowed into his district since then, his office has attempted to split hairs. “Rep. Newhouse had fundamental disagreements with the massive infrastructure package that spurred a socialist spending spree and led to record-high inflation,” spokesperson Mike Marinella told E&E News in 2023. “While he acknowledges that the bill did more harm than good for the American people, he will always recognize and applaud economic opportunity for the hardworking men and women in his district.”
The new letter is different from the old one in a few key ways. First, it mentions neither the Inflation Reduction Act nor its slightly older cousin, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, by name. Instead, it emphasizes “the importance of prioritizing energy affordability for American families and keeping on our current path to energy dominance amid efforts to repeal or reform current energy tax credits.” The letter also advocates for an “all-of-the-above” approach to energy development that has long been popular among conservatives but has seemed to fall out of vogue under Trump 2.0.
Lastly, while the new letter repeats the previous version’s emphasis on policy stability for businesses, it adds a new plea on behalf of ratepayers. “As our conference works to make energy prices more affordable, tax reforms that would raise energy costs for hard working Americans would be contrary to this goal,” it reads. “Further, affordable and abundant energy will be critical as the President works to onshore domestic manufacturing, supply chains, and good paying jobs, particularly in Republican run states due to their business-friendly environments. Pro-energy growth policies will directly support these objectives.”
As my colleagues Robinson Meyer and Emily Pontecorvo have written, tariffs on Canadian fuel would raise energy prices in markets across the U.S. That includes some particularly swingy states, e.g. Michigan, which perhaps explains Rep. James’ seeming about-face.
Republicans’ House majority currently stands at all of four votes, so although 21 members might not be huge on the scale of the full House, they still represent a significant problem for Speaker Johnson.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the fact that Rep. James did not unseat Democrat Carl Marlinga in 2022 as the district had been newly created following the 2020 census.
