Trump admin admits canceling $7.5 bln in clean energy grants based solely on political criteria

Published Jul 24, 08:13 PM UTC

The White House has admitted in court that it deliberately canceled $7.5 billion in clean energy grants to states that did not vote for President Trump in the 2024 election. Court documents filed last week and reported by The New York Times reveal that Trump administration officials terminated 284 grants 'based solely' on political criteria, targeting states with Democratic leadership that voted for Kamala Harris. A Department of Energy lawyer conceded the grants were not terminated based on programmatic, statutory, cost-reduction, or performance-based factors. Similar grants in Republican-led states that voted for Trump were left untouched, despite the Department of Energy recommending their cancellation. The administration said it came clean to avoid participating in the discovery process for a lawsuit filed by California researchers. The article also notes the administration has held up other federal funding, including FEMA disaster aid and childcare funding, for states that did not support the president.