John Sneed, the head of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) under former President Donald Trump, will depart this week after a brief extension of his transitional role. Sneed, who previously served as chief of staff to Trump’s Energy Secretary Rick Perry, oversaw financing for nuclear energy and a controversial $1.67 billion loan guarantee for a Montana sustainable aviation fuel refinery backed by Republican Senator Steve Daines.
The LPO, which gained expanded authority under President Joe Biden to fund emerging clean energy technologies like advanced batteries and solar arrays, saw limited use during Trump’s first term, focusing largely on nuclear projects. Trump’s administration recently approved partial financing to restart Michigan’s Palisades nuclear plant and finalized the Montana refinery loan just before Trump’s return to office.
The departure leaves uncertainty over how Trump will utilize the LPO’s $400 billion lending capacity in his second term, particularly as Biden-era clean energy initiatives clash with Trump’s fossil fuel priorities. The DOE plans to name a new LPO director in the coming weeks.