Key facts
- The Trump administration illegally canceled $7.6 billion in clean energy grants.
- Decisions to cancel grants were based on states' political leanings and electoral support for Trump.
- The administration's actions violated the Constitution's equal protection requirements.
- Hundreds of clean energy projects in 16 states were affected by the cancellations.
The Trump administration acknowledged in court documents that it canceled $7.6 billion in grants for hundreds of clean energy projects based solely on the political identity of the grant recipient’s state, specifically targeting 16 states that supported Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. This admission contradicts previous assertions by Energy Secretary Chris Wright and other officials who claimed the projects were canceled due to not advancing national energy needs or being poor investments.
Democrats and environmental groups have criticized the administration, stating it "weaponized" the federal government to punish states based on their political views. Representatives Marcy Kaptur and Senator Patty Murray called the actions "corrupt abuse of power" that harms working families. The Energy Department had announced the termination of 321 funding awards across 223 projects in October, citing programmatic reasons.
The cuts, which affected projects such as battery plants, hydrogen technology development, grid upgrades, and carbon capture, were immediately challenged in court. Government lawyers had previously confirmed in a filing that grant selection was influenced by whether a grantee was located in a "Blue State." The most recent admission came in a case called Thakur v. Trump, where lawyers also acknowledged using keywords related to diversity, gender, vaccine hesitancy, and COVID-19 to screen projects against the administration's priorities.
Holly Bender of the Sierra Club stated the court filing reveals a "vindictive approach" that ignores job losses and environmental impacts, suggesting that taxpayer dollars were redirected to fossil fuel companies instead of needed energy infrastructure.