AI Boom or Political Play? Trump Channels Defense Funds Into Dying Coal Plants

The Trump administration is set to channel nearly $700 million in federal funds into the U.S. coal industry Thursday, invoking a Korean War-era statute to prop up existing power plants, finance new construction, and push open a California export terminal that has been blocked for nearly two decades.

The centerpiece is $425 million distributed under the Defense Production Act to 13 existing coal plants across West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Indiana, Tennessee, Arkansas, Arizona, Oklahoma, North Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Another $75 million…