Tom Perez: Just Like Obamacare, Biden’s Clean Energy Law Is Here To Stay

White House senior adviser Tom Perez predicted President Joe Biden’s signature climate law will withstand GOP attempts to roll it back — just as the Affordable Care Act passed under his former boss survived repeal efforts.

“Just like the ACA, this is part of our ecosystem,” said Perez, the director of the White House’s Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, during POLITICO’s Energy Summit. Perez formerly served as Labor secretary under former President Barack Obama.

The Biden administration is racing to get federal spending out the door ahead of the November election. But the potential return of former President Donald Trump — who has repeatedly criticized Biden’s support for clean energy — could mean undoing or undermining parts of the administration’s signature climate legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act, and progress under other laws like the bipartisan infrastructure law.

But Perez painted an optimistic picture Wednesday, telling the crowd that the climate law is “grafting into the ecosystem and the consciousness” as a wave of announced investments into clean energy projects — largely to GOP-led congressional districts — have launched across the U.S.

Republican lawmakers have continued to criticize the Inflation Reduction Act and sought to pass legislation to undo parts of the law, even as their communities are set to receive most of the investments stemming from the legislation.

“The Marjorie Taylor Greenes of the world have regrettably existed since the beginning of time and they will continue to exist,” Perez said, referring to the Georgia lawmaker who represents a district that has received significant solar investment. “But the vast majority — some very vocal, some slightly less vocal, but no less passionately committed to this — are going to continue to thrive.”

Voters, however, say they don’t know very much about Biden’s major domestic spending initiatives as the administration continues to dole out funds under the series of infrastructure and climate laws.

The bipartisan infrastructure law, for example, provided $7.5 billion specifically directed toward electric vehicle chargers, with an eye toward installing 500,000 chargers in the United States by 2030. So far, just eight charging plazas have been installed under that program.

Perez defended the administration’s work Wednesday, saying that “it's very easy to tear things down,” but is “very difficult to build things overnight,” citing permitting and state and local requirements.

“Transformational change doesn't happen with an on-off switch,” Perez said. “It requires relentless commitment and energy, and we've had partners across the country, Republican and Democratic leaders, who have helped us.

“So I think people are beginning to see that progress. But there's undeniably more to do.”