Biden earmarked billions for former coal communities in Appalachia – and his successor came and took it away
For a moment, Jacob Hannah saw an unprecedented opportunity to make Appalachia great again.
In 2022, the Biden administration earmarked billions of dollars to help revitalize and strengthen former coal communities. The objective was to lay down building blocks for the region to transition from extractive industries like coal and timber to a hub for solar and other advanced energy technologies, with a view to long-term economic, climate and social resilience.
But on his first day in office, Donald Trump scrapped Biden’s clean energy and environmental programs, which he lambasted as woke, anti-American liberal hoaxes.
Are these the same people that voted for Trump in 2016 because Hillary said she was going to fund training and retooling for them to move into renewable energy and ended the speech by saying she was going to put coal mines out of business?