New Report Highlights How Trump’s Policies Are Fueling Texas’ Cost of Living Crisis
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TX— Ahead of Donald Trump’s arrival in San Antonio tomorrow for another campaign rally to support Republicans Ken Paxton (who was caught just last week saying that Trump and Vance are dragging him down) and Greg Abbott (who is nervously trying to distance himself), he will undoubtedly try to sell his economic record despite rising costs hurting everyday Texans. New state-specific modeling published by Energy Innovation underscores the direct links between Trump’s policies and the cost-of-living crisis Texans are facing—a crisis that our country will be saddled with for years to come if Republicans keep their majorities in both houses of Congress.
Trump’s war in Iran has sent gas and diesel prices through the roof, his gutting of clean energy has slashed energy supply at a time when demand is skyrocketing, and the blank check he’s given to data center developers has pushed utility prices sky-high. Rather than standing up for Texans, Ken Paxton and Greg Abbott would rather line the pockets of their donors and play lapdog to Trump.
Toplines from Energy Innovation’s new analysis include:
- Texas households will pay an additional $96 billion for energy – an average of $810 per household in 2035 and $700 in 2040.
- Cutting policies that drive transportation sector innovation and efficiency will inflate gasoline prices in Texas 17 percent in 2035 and 31 percent in 2040, atop upward pressure from the Iran war.
- OBBBA and federal cuts to domestic manufacturing and innovation will cost Texas’ economy 60,000 jobs per year on average over the next decade, in addition to the 54,000 clean energy jobs lost since January 2025.
- Slowing down electrification and domestic energy manufacturing will lower GDP, spilling into other economic sectors. Texas’ economy will lose $7.7 billion in GDP in 2030, with annual losses growing to $15 billion by 2040.
- Worsening local air pollution will raise healthcare costs in Texas by $5.0 billion, with annual increases of $490 million in 2035 and $360 million in 2040, contributing to rising household costs alongside rising energy prices and goods inflation.
“Greg Abbott and Ken Paxton have been nothing but cheerleaders of Trump and Republican policies that have jacked up energy costs, from the Iran War to gutting American clean energy to massive tax breaks for data centers—and we’ve only begun to pay the price,” said Climate Power’s Western State Hub Senior Director Tiffany Hsieh. “The numbers make clear that life is going to get much less affordable if they are elected. Abbott and Paxton don’t care about Texans, which is why we’re voting them out this November.”
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