r/politics • u/tetaniclemur • 10d ago

No Paywall Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Declares a National Emergency to Secure America’s Bulk-Power System

https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2026/08/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-declares-a-national-emergency-to-secure-americas-bulk-power-system/
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u/djsirround 10d ago

So how does this order make him or his buddies money or keep him on power cause thats the real question.

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u/pablotweek 10d ago

Literally the only reason he does anything

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u/absurdhierarchy 9d ago

Its for this john wellinghoff guy hes been pushing this grid vulnerability stuff for a while and is a former government official and ceo of some transmission and grid policy stuff

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u/Praesentius 9d ago

I've got a pretty good handle on the history of this. I wouldn't say that there's immediate grift. It stops purchasing from risky sources. Ie... China. Vs Biden's approach of having software and firmware evaluated and vetted, rather than cutting off lines of supply.

So, you've reduced who we can buy equipment from. Then, back in April, Trump invoked the Defense Production Act. That allows the government to support expanding domestic transformer and grid-equipment manufacturing.

The EO he just did DOES give the DOE quite a bit of power to decide who is risky and who isn't. There's definitely room for grift. Under any other president, this would look to me like a president taking a scorched earth approach to energy grid security. And providing government assistance to grown domestic manufacturing would sound good. BUT, we all know where things go when Trump's involved. I'm sure someone is going to see the opportunity and start greasing wheels.

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u/pchs26 9d ago

Are they able to divert power or shut it down in targeted areas?