CNBC editor goes nuclear on guest pushing green energy handouts

CNBC’s Rick Santelli went off on a guest who lamented President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” because it would supposedly make it hard to “invest in clean energy.”

Kitty Richards, a former Treasury Department official, claimed that congressional Republicans are attempting to rob Americans of their healthcare and make electricity prices surge by allegedly attacking clean energy in the spending package. Santelli said that the federal government needs to spend less in order to bring down the federal deficit and that clean energy provisions do not appeal to Americans.

“[The bill] is gonna be a real drag on local economies across the country if that bill passes,” Richards said. “And it’s going to make it much more expensive to invest in clean energy which is going to spike electricity prices.”

“Clean energy is uneconomic!” Santelli exclaimed. “Clean energy can’t stand on its own two feet. That’s why we have such big deficits. We want to pay for things that people don’t want!”

WATCH:

Richards attempted to assert that clean energy policies are helping to bring down the price of electricity, and argued the legislation backed by Trump will be a drag on economic growth.

The legislation, which passed the House on May 22, intends to repeal clean energy provisions in former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and several renewable energy tax credits.

Some Senate Republicans, including Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Mike Lee of Utah, have expressed opposition toward the legislation in its current form due to their concern about federal spending and the deficit. Two House Republicans, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Warren Davidson of Ohio, voted against the bill over deficit concerns.

Trump told Republicans in the upper chamber on May 26 that they can make changes they want to the legislation in order to get it passed by the White House’s July 4 deadline. Elon Musk, who has recently clashed with Trump, called the bill a “disgusting abomination” in a Tuesday X post and accused any Republican who voted in favor of knowing they “did wrong.”

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