Trump is transforming the GOP’s energy policies — and not all conservatives are happy

People who identify themselves as traditional small government conservatives expressed wariness of some of Trump’s moves. They say the party is using the same heavy-handed tactics to reward favorites for which they criticized Democrats. Republicans have even dialed it up a notch, they said.

Republicans have cast aside the all-of-the-above mindset of the pre-Trump era, said Drew Bond, CEO of conservative climate organization C3 Solutions and an Energy Department adviser in the George W. Bush administration. Now, they preach a “best of the above” mentality that invites subjective choice over the ebbs and flows of a free market, he said.

“You’re sort of seeing a bit of an intellectual compromise, if you will, in order to secure more of an agenda focused on abundance and reliability and affordability,” he said.