Electric truck maker Lordstown Motors Corp. could reportedly lose out on a loan that it is looking to secure to help retool an Ohio factory if President Trump’s proposed budget is approved prior to the funding.

Under the proposed budget plan, a loan program offered by the Department of Energy (DOE) through its Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program may get cut. Lordstown Motors is seeking a $200 million loan under the program, which has provided billions in loans to other electric carmakers to retool plants for electric vehicle production, Bloomberg said.

The plan to cut the program comes after General Motors left the Lordstown, Ohio, plant, which was reportedly criticized by Trump at the time. Lordstown Motors is looking to revive the factory and hire as many as 400 workers by the end of 2020, according to the news outlet.

Lordstown Motors reportedly met with the DOE last week to secure financing and has plans in place to build electric pickup trucks at the plant by the end of 2020.

The DOE program has come under fire by conservatives after funding a half-billion-dollar loan to failed solar-panel maker Solyndra LLC, the news outlet said. Trump’s budget calls for eliminating the loan program in the fiscal 2021 plan.

Lordstown Motors
Lordstown Motors purchased the Ohio GM plant in November 2019. The GM Lordstown plant is shown on March 6, 2019 in Lordstown, Ohio. The sprawling facility was idled today after more than 50 years producing cars and other vehicles, falling victim to changing U.S. auto preferences, according to the company. Getty Images/Jeff Swensen
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