In a rare moment of candor, Trump’s Energy Secretary Chris Wright has conceded that electricity prices are climbing — and that Republicans could face the political fallout heading into next year’s midterms. But instead of accepting responsibility for Trump’s aggressive rollback of renewable energy incentives, Wright is pointing the finger at Democrats.

“The momentum of the Obama-Biden policies … that destruction is going to continue in the coming years,” Wright told POLITICO during a visit to Iowa last week. “And who’s going to get blamed for it? We’re going to get blamed because we’re in office.”

It was a striking admission from a senior member of Trump’s Cabinet, especially as the president continues to promise a “golden age” of prosperity and insists his policies are ushering in the “greatest economic boom in history.”

Prices Climb, Blame Game Begins

Electricity costs were up 5.5 percent year-over-year at the end of July, according to federal data, as summer demand surged. Democrats argue the rise is directly linked to Trump’s decision to phase out clean energy tax credits and hobble the growth of wind and solar projects — low-cost sources that had been rapidly reshaping the grid under the Biden administration.

Wright acknowledged the problem but defended the administration’s push for coal, gas, and nuclear over renewables. “We’re swimming seven days a week to try to offset that negative momentum and try to bring electricity prices down,” he said, before adding: “But you can’t turn on a dime.”

Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), top Democrat on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, dismissed the excuse. “There’s an affordability crisis in electricity that is well on its way,” he said. “And just with the decisions they’ve already made, it’s probably baked in for the next several years. They own that.”

Tensions in Iowa

Wright’s comments came during a swing through Iowa — a state that relies on wind for 60 percent of its electricity, the highest share in the nation. There, he was flanked by Sen. Joni Ernst and Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Republicans who have pressed Trump not to cripple wind power in their state.

At the Ames National Laboratory, Wright praised ongoing research into reducing dependence on Chinese supply chains but faced pointed questions about his Department’s new Treasury guidance — rules that will make it harder for wind and solar projects to qualify for tax credits. While some in the clean energy sector feared an outright wipeout, the rules still cut deeply into future growth.

Iowa’s senior senator, Chuck Grassley, who helped create the wind tax credit decades ago, withheld support for three of Trump’s nominees over the issue. He offered only cautious approval of the Treasury’s compromise, saying the new guidance “seems to offer a viable path forward.”

A Shift on Solar — But Not Wind

For years, Trump has waged a rhetorical war on wind, calling turbines “ugly,” “noisy,” and “bird killers.” Wright has echoed that disdain, blasting wind projects as “subsidized, inefficient, unreliable land hogs that drive up prices.”

Yet during his Iowa trip, Wright softened his tone on solar. He acknowledged that plummeting costs and smaller land footprints make solar power more viable than wind. “Its fundamental viability in a subsidy-free world is much better than wind,” Wright said, predicting steady growth for solar projects even under Trump’s policies.

He also conceded that renewables remain essential in certain regions. Remote Alaskan villages, he noted, where heating oil costs $10 a gallon, could dramatically benefit from small wind turbines or solar panels. “That’s a big win,” he said.

Still, Wright insisted that America’s energy future lies with fossil fuels, nuclear, and geothermal — sources he described as “baseload” power better suited to meet the rising demand of energy-hungry data centers. “The previous administration thought wind, solar, and batteries were going to power the world. They’re not,” he said.

A Political Headache in the Making

As Trump pushes forward with policies designed to “reset” the energy mix, the politics of higher prices could haunt Republicans at the ballot box. For voters, rising power bills are a tangible, pocketbook issue. For Democrats, they are proof that Trump’s “energy dominance” rhetoric masks an agenda that punishes consumers to reward fossil fuel interests.

Wright’s comments revealed the administration’s biggest fear: that when the bills arrive, it’s not Democrats but Republicans who will be held accountable.

“The momentum is already there,” Wright admitted. “And who’s going to get blamed? We are.”