A power plant oversight overhaul

This roundup of U.S. energy news headlines is part of our Canary Media Daily newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each morning.

TARIFFS

• President Trump announces a 90-day pause on implementing his ​“reciprocal” tariffs, but preserves levies on China, which dominates U.S. solar and battery component imports. (CNN)

POLITICS

• President Trump’s order targeting state climate laws is almost certainly unconstitutional, say legal scholars and environmental experts, but could slow state clean energy action nonetheless. (Grist)

• Legal experts call out Trump’s ​“utter hypocrisy on states’ rights” as he looks to dismantle state climate policies. (E&E News)

• U.S. Senate Republicans consider whether to defy the body’s parliamentarian, who ruled that California’s vehicle emissions waivers can’t be nullified under the Congressional Review Act. (E&E News)

• A GOP Congress member plans to introduce legislation today that would phase out Inflation Reduction Act tax credits for wind and solar by the end of the decade. (E&E News)

• The U.S. Transportation Department contradicts a report saying it will let New York City’s congestion pricing plan remain in place until October, calling it ​“a complete lie.” (Heatmap)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Trump’s efforts to reinvigorate coal ignore the fact that cheaper fossil gas largely usurped coal power generation years ago. (Heatmap)

• Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe, a Republican, signs a bill that allows utilities to charge ratepayers for power plants before they’re completed, which critics say will hike bills while favoring construction of natural gas plants. (St. Louis Public Radio)

GRID

• The International Energy Agency estimates global electricity demand from data centers will more than double in the next five years. (IEA)

CLIMATE

• The White House cuts funding and staff in the program that compiles the National Climate Assessment every four years. (Politico)

CARBON CAPTURE

• The U.S. EPA approves Texas oil and gas company Occidental Petroleum’s proposal to build a direct air carbon capture facility to suck carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and inject it underground. (Texas Tribune)