Department of Energy Defends Fiscal Year 2026 Budget

By: Ellen Kuo
Thursday, June 12, 2025
Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright testified before the Senate Appropriations Energy and Water subcommittee to answer questions related to President Trump’s fiscal year (FY) 2026 skinny budget. Chair John Kennedy began the hearing by remarking that the department’s budget had grown at an unsustainable rate. In FY 2021, its budget was roughly $61 billion, and it is currently $160 billion, or a 161 percent increase. Additionally, he pointed out the special inspector general’s report from November 2024, which identified $1 billion in “wasteful spending, unsupportive spending or fraudulent spending.” He said he didn’t see a lot of results from this spending, as the average electricity bill in America has increased by 28 percent over the last four years.  

Ranking member Patty Murray used her opening statement to focus on the lack of information she has sought from Wright on staffing, the release of funds Congress signed into law, which was either canceled or held up, the 3,500 employees at the department that have taken the buyout and the 500 or more that were terminated.  She said it was false of him to say there were no unpaid invoices at the department when she heard from organizations still waiting for payments. She was also critical of the lack of detail in the FY 2025 spending plan presented to Congress to lay out how the department is spending appropriated funds and how it has blocked or canceled billions of dollars for critical projects around the country. Pointing out the $1.1 billion cut to the Office of Science in the skinny budget, she told the secretary that we are ceding ground to China in the race for innovation and laying off scientists at our national labs.

Wright told Senators that he has dedicated his life to increasing access to energy and bettering human lives and said the budget will return the agency to its core mission of advancing energy innovation and global competitiveness through research and development. “We will invest DOEs resources and tech in sources and technologies that support affordable, reliable and secure energy and provide a return on investment for the American taxpayers.” He also testified that DOE will replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, has eliminated 47 regulations through the largest deregulatory effort in history, saving $11 billion for the American people, and will modernize the nuclear weapons system. The agency has the world’s top ten supercomputers, and the department wants to harness our country’s energy potential to power global AI leadership while meeting the big challenges and big builds of our time. 

When asked specific questions about staff reductions, Wright said the headcount would be reduced by thousands and would be done slowly. He also said it was undermining the new administration when asked about the $93 billion that went out the door in the 76 days between when President Trump was elected and President Biden left office. He affirmed that the department was checking loans and grants to make sure there was no stealing. 

After the hearing, House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole released his markup schedule for appropriations bills, with the Energy and Water subcommittee markup scheduled for July 7 and the full committee on July 10. This was despite a full detailed budget from the White House not yet being released. The Senate appropriators have not released their schedule as of this writing.