The Trump administration has acknowledged in court filings that it cancelled clean energy grants to states using political criteria tied to the 2024 election. According to court documents described by multiple outlets, officials terminated more than $7.5 billion in federal grants in October, stating the decision was made “based solely” on whether states supported President Donald Trump. The filings reportedly describe targeting grants to states represented by Democrats and that voted for Kamala Harris in 2024. One report says a Department of Energy lawyer conceded that, with one exception, terminated grants had recipient locations and/or places of performance in states that awarded electoral votes to Harris and had Democratic-caucusing senators, and that the cancellations were not tied to programmatic or performance-based factors.
The administration’s earlier justification, as reported, was that the cuts were intended to prevent federal money from being wasted, including claims that decisions were not political. It also reportedly pointed to the avoided costs of participating in discovery in a lawsuit. The legal dispute is brought by plaintiffs challenging the cancellation of Biden-era funding. Separately, commentary in coverage indicates other federal funding streams, such as FEMA disaster aid and childcare, have faced similar allegations, though the court outcome in this matter is still pending.
