Two of President Donald Trump's wealthy friends have asked for help from the federal government but have been rebuffed, Politico reported Tuesday.
American investor and billionaire Carl Icahn, who left his role as special adviser to Trump last Friday, pushed to change a federal biofuel program to help his oil refining company CVR Energy and coal magnate Robert Murray asked the Energy Department to use its emergency powers to force some power plants in the Rust Belt to stay open.
The coal-fired plants are supplied by Murray's mines and, in a letter to the Energy Department on Aug. 4, he said his company would be forced into bankruptcy if they were shut down.
Trump ordered Energy Secretary Rick Perry to meet Murray's request, but the DOE said no.
"These are two people who really don't understand how government works, talking to a president who came into office not understanding how government works," said Jeff Navin, a founder of Boundary Stone Partners. "What they're asking for causes serious legal problems for the agencies they're asking to take these steps."
Both Murray and Icahn supported Trump in the election.
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice is also seeking special treatment from Trump, reported Politico. The coal billionaire has pitched the idea of federal coal subsidies to Trump, in which the federal government pays power plants to buy Appalachian coal. The plan could make Justice's own mines millions.
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