Southern Wins Approval on Big Spending Plan as AI Demands New Power
Southern's Georgia Power unit proposed a resource plan in January that would delay coal plant retirements and build some clean energy in order to meet more than eight gigawatts of additional load the company projects will arrive over the next six years. The Georgia Public Service Commission voted on the proposal during a hearing on Tuesday and approved it unanimously, according to PSC representative Tom Krause.
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Washington Post
4 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Trump administration pulls $4B in federal funding for California's bullet train project
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Trump administration revoked federal funding for California's high-speed rail project on Wednesday, intensifying uncertainty about how the state will make good on its long-delayed promise of building a bullet train to shuttle riders between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The U.S. Transportation Department announced it was pulling back $4 billion in funding for the project, weeks after signaling it would do so. Overall, a little less than a quarter of the project's funding has come from the federal government. The rest has come from the state, mainly through a voter-approved bond and money from its cap-and-trade program.
CBS News
4 minutes ago
- CBS News
Tension over antitrust division crops up inside Trump administration, sources say
Washington — Internal friction with the Justice Department team that fights monopolies has led to private conversations in the Trump administration about whether to push out some staff in the antitrust division or to work to smooth out the issues, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation. Gail Slater, who in March took charge of lawsuits against Capital One, Apple, Google and other major companies as head of the Justice Department's antitrust division, still has support from some top officials in the administration, but she and some on her team have been a target of criticism from colleagues and business leaders, sources inside and outside the administration told CBS News. Slater was asked to come to a meeting at the White House on Thursday with other high-level administration officials, two of the sources said. The gathering, expected to focus on mergers policy, will include the Office of Budget and Management, the National Economic Council and the Federal Trade Commission. There has been friction over the handling of investigations into T-Mobile, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and others, sources said. The antitrust division is one of two agencies that protects competition in markets by enforcing the antitrust laws that regulate mergers and business practices that harm consumers. Slater, who entered her role in high regard in both MAGA circles and among left-leaning watchdogs, hasn't adopted a block-every-merger approach. But some Trump officials have vented that it has taken a substantial amount of internal push-and-pull to land on decisions to reach deals that resolve merger issues, three of the sources said. Questions have risen inside the NEC, FTC, Federal Communications Commission and in other corners of the administration about whether President Trump's policies are Slater's priority, or whether she's forging her own policy agenda, the sources said. Slater has also told companies not to try to engage with the administration via Trump-aligned lobbyists and consultants, several sources said. Frustration with that tack led business leaders to reach out to White House officials wondering why they were being told who they can hire, two sources said. Sources said in one meeting between antitrust officials, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and a software company it was seeking to acquire, Juniper Networks, Slater told the business parties they should only work directly with Justice Department officials, not through outside consultants. HPE's consultants included Trump allies Mike Davis and Arthur Schwartz, who weren't in the room. Attorney General Pam Bondi and her deputies are aware of some administration officials' tension with the antitrust division, sources said. The Justice Department sued to stop Hewlett Packard Enterprise from buying Juniper in January, and the two sides settled the lawsuit in June, paving the way for the acquisition to close. But multiple sources said Bondi's chief of staff, Chad Mizelle, had to overrule Slater to accept a Hewlett Packard/Juniper offer, which DOJ officials were confident was a better deal than what the government could've gotten at trial. Some administration officials defended Slater as deeply principled and laudably untrusting of well-connected Trump allies who want to influence the outcome of confidential legal matters. One source said Slater has repeatedly noted that she was confirmed by the Senate with 78 votes, more than almost any other Trump official other than Secretary of State Marco Rubio — a validation that she's well qualified for the role. "Gail is a long-time friend and fellow seasoned antitrust lawyer," FTC Commissioner Mark Meador told CBS News in a statement. "She's been a fantastic partner as FTC and DOJ work together to fulfill our shared mission." Some of Slater's supporters noted that unlike the Biden administration, which used as much time as it could statutorily to conduct investigations, Slater and her team have voluntarily closed investigations in a shorter window dozens of times. And she has diverged from the Biden antitrust team's approach in other ways, another source said. The Biden team, for example, was going to recommend blocking a merger of Capital One and Discover, and Slater allowed it to go through.
Associated Press
4 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Trump administration pulls $4B in federal funding for California's bullet train project
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Trump administration revoked federal funding for California's high-speed rail project on Wednesday, intensifying uncertainty about how the state will make good on its long-delayed promise of building a bullet train to shuttle riders between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The U.S. Transportation Department announced it was pulling back $4 billion in funding for the project, weeks after signaling it would do so. Overall, a little less than a quarter of the project's funding has come from the federal government. The rest has come from the state, mainly through a voter-approved bond and money from its cap-and-trade program. President Donald Trump and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy both have slammed the project as a 'train to nowhere.' 'The Railroad we were promised still does not exist, and never will,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. 'This project was Severely Overpriced, Overregulated, and NEVER DELIVERED.' The loss marks the latest blow to California by the Trump administration, which has blocked a first-in-the-nation rule to phase out the sale of new gas-powered cars, launched investigations into university admission policies and threatened to pull funding over transgender girls being allowed to compete in girls sports. It also comes as rail project leaders are seeking private investment to help pay for its estimated price tag of more than $100 billion. Voters first approved the project in 2008 and it was supposed to be operating this decade. But cost estimates have consistently grown and its timeline pushed back. State officials are now focused on building a 119-mile (192-kilometer) stretch connecting the Central Valley cities of Bakersfield and Merced that is set to be operating by 2033. The California High Speed Rail Authority is slated to release a report this summer to state lawmakers with an updated funding plan and timeline for the project. Authority officials wrote in a letter earlier this month that the Trump administration made up its mind about revoking funding before thoroughly reviewing the project. They noted that more than 50 structures have already been built, including underpasses, viaducts and bridges to separate the rail line from roadways for safety. 'Canceling these grants without cause isn't just wrong — it's illegal,' authority CEO Ian Choudri said in a statement Wednesday. 'These are legally binding agreements, and the Authority has met every obligation, as confirmed by repeated federal reviews, as recently as February 2025.' The authority has asked potential private investors to express their interest by the end of the month. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state will keep 'all options on the table' to fight the revocation of federal funds. 'Trump wants to hand China the future and abandon the Central Valley. We won't let him,' he said in a statement. The state has 'no viable plan' to complete even the Central Valley segment, said Drew Feeley, acting administrator of the transportation department's Federal Railroad Administration, in a report released last month. He called the project a 'story of broken promises' and a waste of taxpayer dollars. California Democrats also have criticized project spending. Democratic Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan said at a budget hearing earlier this year that her constituents 'overwhelmingly believe' high-speed rail spending 'has been irresponsible.' Newsom plans to extend the state's cap-and-trade program, a key funding source for the project which is set to expire at the end of 2030, through 2045. The program sets a declining limit on the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions large emitters can release. Those polluters can buy allowances from the state needed to pollute, and about 45% of that money goes into what's known as the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, according to the Independent Emissions Market Advisory Committee, a group of experts that reviews the program. The fund helps pay for climate and transportation projects, including high-speed rail. The bullet train project receives 25% of the money from the fund, which ends up being a little less or a little more than $1 billion annually, depending on the year. Newsom in May proposed guaranteeing $1 billion a year for the project from the fund, but lawmakers have not agreed to that. ___ Austin is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Austin on X: @sophieadanna
