ATLANTA — There are questions about how the federal funding freeze could affect Georgia’s Rivian plant which was awarded billions in funding in the final days of the Biden administration.
Trump issued that pause in federal loans overnight.
Most people Channel 2’s Richard Elliot spoke with on Tuesday said they are pretty sure that includes the Rivian loan because it was already in the sights of some in his administration.
Elliot said he also heard a lot of confusion over the massive project moving forward.
Rivian is already one of the largest economic development projects in Georgia history, promising to bring 7,500 jobs to the state.
Lawmakers on both sides worked to help the electric vehicle maker move past its recent economic troubles which forced it to halt construction on its site east of Atlanta.
Rivian secured a $6.6 billion loan it said would help it restart construction on that plant.
But Monday night, Trump issued an executive order pausing all federal loans and grants throwing the loan to Rivian in question.
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Tuesday, Georgia lawmakers scrambled to understand the order and its impact on Rivian.
Sen. Jon Ossoff called the order an erratic decision.
“The president’s suspension of federal grants for Georgia threatens chaos,” Ossoff said.
The Rivian megasite is in Covington, which is Republican lawmaker Tim Fleming’s House district.
While supporting Trump’s order, he said “We’ll see how this affects Rivian and their plans for their Georgia facility in social circle.”
Rivian itself issued a statement sidestepping the executive order but reaffirming its commitment to Georgia.
“We’re working hard to onshore US manufacturing, providing thousands of American jobs here in Georgia,” the company said.
There was no comment from the governor’s office on Tuesday, but House Minority Whip Sam Park said the order is an example of the chaos coming from the Trump administration.
“Unfortunately, this is seemingly a shock and awe campaign that’s going to disrupt and likely hurt our economy and hurt Georgia businesses and families,” Park said.
At a news conference late Tuesday afternoon, the Trump administration appeared to be walking back the order saying it’s not a blanket pause.
At the same time, some in the Trump administration have targeted that loan to Rivian for closer examination.
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