The Trump administration has admitted 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. This admission contradicts previous claims by Energy Secretary Chris Wright and other officials that the projects were canceled due to their failure to advance the nation’s energy needs or because they were poor investments of taxpayer dollars.

Political Motivations

Democrats and environmental groups have seized on the court filing, stating that the administration had ‘weaponized’ the federal government to kill good jobs and punish working families because of their political views. The canceled grants were for projects in 16 states that voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.

The Energy Department announced last October that 321 funding awards across 223 projects were terminated, citing that they did not adequately advance the nation’s energy needs or were not economically viable. The cuts were part of broader attacks by President Donald Trump on climate programs and clean energy funding, slashing federal support for projects to build battery plants, develop hydrogen technology, upgrade the electric grid, and capture carbon dioxide emissions.

Original reporting: NBC10 Boston — read the source article.