Politically Unstable: If Democrats retake White House in 2028, energy jobs at risk, CEO warns

OPINION:

Could a return to Biden-era climate policies in 2028 reverse the trade-job boom in America’s energy sector?

On this episode of Politically Unstable, host Kelly Sadler is joined by Jason Isaac, CEO of the American Energy Institute, to talk about the booming trade-job market in energy — and why Isaac warns that a Democratic White House win could put those gains, and the jobs they’ve created, at risk.

[SADLER] We’re going to be talking about jobs, for those who are graduating from college or high school, within the energy sector. We had a conversation a few days ago with another guest about how four-year colleges are missing their enrollment numbers. People are turning off to the costs of getting $100,000 education and then going into the job market and having dull or dim prospects.

So Jason, tell us about energy sector opportunities there, trade schools, apprenticeships, because this seems to be an area of growth.

[snip]

[SADLER] Are these jobs needed because of the growth of data centers? What is spurring the growth, especially within the energy and industry?

[ISAAC] I think the realization that what we’ve done over the last couple of decades of misallocating resources into things that are intermittent sources of electric generation, wind, solar, and batteries. And now we’ve come to this realization, the current administration is working tooth and nail to make energy affordable and reliable once again. But what’s happened is we’ve misallocated resources, and those resources are not only capital, but they’re labor. And so I think we’re seeing this reversal. We’re now seeing great strides with the repeal of greenhouse gas emission reporting requirements for power plants. It’s going to make it easier to build new natural gas and coal-fired electric generation. We’re seeing a nuclear renaissance like we haven’t seen in decades. That requires skilled workers, electrical, HVAC, plumbing, welding, mechanical. So really the production of affordable and reliable energy, and the energy that we produce more responsibly than anywhere else on the planet right here in the United States, is driving this incredible growth in these jobs.

[snip]

[SADLER] In terms of a Republican holding the White House versus a Democrat, do you expect this trend to continue? Because we know that during the Biden administration, they were not very friendly towards the energy sector. You have the reverse with President Trump, as you just pointed out. But let’s say the White House flips back in control to the Democrats in 2028. And perhaps if Democrats take control of the House and the Senate this year during the midterm elections, is this trend sustainable?

[ISAAC] I think it certainly points out the importance of Congress acting. Congress needs to act on this climate lawsuit abuse. Harriet Hageman has a great piece sponsored with Ted Cruz in the Senate that pushes back on some of the climate nuisance lawsuits. Those need to stop. I mean, you’ve got over 30 different lawsuits that are happening now.

[snip]

And now these batteries — batteries that have surveillance technology and communications technology built into them. This is absolutely appalling from a national security standpoint.

(*) Full article: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/sep/21/politically-unstable-democrats-retake-white-house-2028-energy-jobs/