President Joe Biden is offering one of his White House challengers hundreds of millions of dollars to spend in his state. The only problem: that opponent is refusing to take it.
The Inflation Reduction Act makes Florida eligible for some $350 million in energy efficiency incentives. But Gov. Ron DeSantis has rejected the funding and other measures, creating the most prominent blockade by any Republican governor against Biden’s economic agenda.
And there’s nothing the White House can do besides hope he changes his mind.
The rejection has the potential to create significant ripple effects, politically and economically, in the coming months. As the president and his Cabinet members go around the country boasting about the IRA, rebates for energy-efficient purchases — the majority of the funding that DeSantis has refused — have played a particularly prominent role. That’s not just because they underpin the administration’s climate agenda but because they provide direct rebates to consumers.
$350 million in savings to the federal government, Florida doesn’t get the economic stimulus and thus looks worse longer term, great item to run against for the next Democrat governor candidate, great boogeyman for Biden to rail against on the campaign trail.
I see this as an absolute win for Biden and Democrats. Sucks for the environment and Floridians.