Nevada Current: Lombardo not going to the mat for programs he opposed before he took credit 

A new report released by the Nevada Current revealed that Joe Lombardo has spent his time – on the campaign trail and as governor – criticizing investments made by federal Democrats while taking credit for job-creating projects funded by those same investments. Now, as those same projects are poised to be cut by Donald Trump, Lombardo has been silent about the potential loss of tens of thousands of good-paying jobs and the disruption to hardworking people’s lives and wallets.

After criticizing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), Lombardo hailed the Tonopah Flats Lithium Project as “a milestone in our efforts to diversify our economy”, failing to mention that the $57 million project would be funded by the BIL. Last April, Lombardo wrote a letter to President Biden asking him to “curb excessive spending” and weeks later he announced Middle Mile Infrastructure project that is also funded by the BIL. 

Despite having been happy to claim credit for these investments, Lombardo is now silent as they come under threat from Trump administration funding freezes. 

Read more below: 

Nevada Current: Lombardo not going to the mat for programs he opposed before he took credit 

2/19/25

Key points: 

• President Donald Trump, during a victory lap last month in Las Vegas, partially credited Gov. Joe Lombardo with his win in Nevada. 

• Lombardo, now navigating an unprecedented freeze of federal funds allocated to Nevada, is in communication with the president’s staff, he said last week, but has yet to call in any favors from Trump personally. Instead, he’s contemplating cutting services and state government jobs to offset revenue that could be lost under Trump. 

• “The Biden Administration’s reckless spending is causing higher inflation, making your family pay more for their everyday items,” Lombardo, a candidate for governor at the time, tweeted in Oct. 2021, months after the passage of Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and a month before Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

• Once in office, Lombardo, who rejected former Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak’s clean energy plan, warmed to policies that could diversify Nevada’s one-trick pony economy, even as he opposed the federal spending measures that made the initiatives possible. 

• “Whether it’s closing the lithium loop, unlocking innovation and investment in logistics, entertainment, science and technology, or embracing entrepreneurship, the message is that Nevada is ready to partner,” Lombardo said in his first State of the State address in 2023.

• Months later, the governor hailed the Tonopah Flats Lithium Project as “a milestone in our efforts to diversify our economy.” He made no mention that construction of a lithium refinery would be subsidized with a $57 million federal grant via the Infrastructure Law. 

• In April 2024 Lombardo wrote to Biden, urging him to slow inflation by curbing federal spending. 

• Weeks later Lombardo announced an effort to make broadband available to rural Nevadans.

• “I’m pleased to announce the allocation of $250 million towards Middle Mile Infrastructure,” Lombardo said, without mentioning who was paying the tab. 

• The state’s Office of Science, Innovation and Technology (OSIT) acknowledged later to state lawmakers that the project was funded by 12 sources, all of them federal. 

• Also in April 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) selected the Nevada Clean Energy Fund for a $156 million Solar for All award to provide solar benefits to low-income households in Nevada, via the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest investment in renewable energy in U.S. history. 

• The IRA allocated $369 billion for clean energy and climate change initiatives. Given a scenario in which “consumers and businesses adopt clean technologies at the pace and scale needed to meet national climate targets” Nevada, according to one analysis, could reap $8 billion in clean energy investments, or $2,500 per capita by 2030, through the IRA. 

• Trump’s executive order, “Unleashing American Energy” calls for federal agencies to “immediately pause the disbursement of funds appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act … or the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,” which renewable energy advocates fear will jeopardize countless initiatives. 

• Another executive order, issued by Trump his first day in office, allows regulators to revisit the permitting process for wind farms “on a retroactive basis, not just going forward,” says Harry Godrey of Advanced Energy United, a trade organization representing clean energy producers. Godfrey says the move raises uncertainty and can “have a chilling effect” among financiers who wonder if the same review will eventually apply to other clean energy projects. 

• “Trump’s agenda leaves over 21,000 clean energy jobs, $15.5 billion in investment, cost-saving energy programs, public health protections, and critical infrastructure projects at risk. Nevadans will feel these impacts — in their wallets, their homes, their jobs, and their neighborhoods,” the Nevada Conservation League said in a news release. 

• Infrastructure, energy, and transportation projects, including those generating jobs in states led by Republicans, could grind to a halt in the event of a prolonged freeze. States with the highest per-capita clean energy investments in 2023 were Wyoming, Nevada, West Virginia, Arizona, Texas and Louisiana, “none of which are Democratic strongholds,” notes another analysis. 

• Unlike some Republican governors, Lombardo has not stood in the way of IRA-funded initiatives […] last year accepted $349 million for energy efficiency upgrades to help low- to moderate-income households get rebates for weatherizing homes and purchasing energy -efficient appliances. 

• State agencies, nonprofits and companies in Nevada have taken advantage of federal programs to help pay for electric vehicles, appliances, solar panels, and pool heaters. A $7.7 million dollar grant to put 25 electric school buses on Nevada roads is on ice. 

• As a result of Trump’s freeze, consumers contemplating purchases intended to augment energy efficiency may be deprived of incentives provided by the federal initiatives. 

• The IRA’s home efficiency rebates programs allocated $96 million in grants intended to assist low- to moderate-income Nevadans reduce the cost of energy efficiency upgrades, and lower their power bills. 

• As of September 2024, Nevada had claimed 54% of its IRA funds, the largest percentage in the nation. 

• “Whether it’s spurring new economic development, lowering energy bills and costs for working families, or making certain that in the face of heat waves, extreme storms, and wildfires, Nevada’s grid is resilient, the governor has an opportunity here to stand up for those things,” says Godfrey.

• Lombardo, who characterized the Democratic response to Trump’s hastily imposed freeze as “shameless political theater,” now appears resigned to cutting the state budget, including eliminating state jobs, and “determining what’s high priority and what is fluff.” 

• Last week Lombardo told the Nevada Independent he’s determining what to cut by discerning which services are “provided to the people for survival, versus, you know, a good quality of life.”

• The amount of money due Nevada is unknown. Lombardo’s office did not respond to numerous requests for information.