Overview

• Senators Chuck Grassley and John Curtis have placed holds on Treasury nominees Brian Morrissey, Francis Brooke and Jonathan McKernan to protest potential deviations from a one-year phaseout of renewable energy tax credits.
• Grassley and Curtis negotiated the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s gradual wind and solar credit expiration and insist that forthcoming Treasury regulations honor both the statutory transition period and longstanding guidance on when projects begin construction.
• The senators’ demands follow President Trump’s July executive order directing the Treasury to accelerate the termination of clean electricity production and investment credits.
• The obstruction by GOP senators underscores intra-party friction over energy policy and demonstrates the strategic use of nomination delays to enforce congressional intent.
• As the Senate remains in recess until September 2, Republican leaders are contemplating rule adjustments to expedite the backlog of presidential nominations.