DOE admits canceling $7.5B in clean energy grants based on 2024 election results

Published Jul 24, 08:13 PM UTC

The Trump administration 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 284 grants were terminated 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 were left untouched despite the DOE recommending their cancellation. The administration acknowledged the political motivation to avoid the discovery process in a lawsuit filed by California researchers. The report 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.