Overview
- The Department of Energy told a court in a July 15 filing that, with one exception, the 284 grants canceled in October were chosen solely because the recipient or project location was in a state that voted for Kamala Harris in 2024 and has two Democratic senators.
- Those terminations totaled about $7.5–7.6 billion and affected grid upgrades, hydrogen hubs, methane-reduction work, carbon-capture projects and university research across 16 Democratic-leaning states.
- DOE said it originally prepared a broader list of more than 600 proposed cancellations that included projects in Republican-led states but the Office of Management and Budget selected the 284 that were ultimately cut.
- The disclosure was offered as part of litigation by University of California researchers and other plaintiffs to avoid wider discovery, and it appears to conflict with Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s earlier testimony denying political motives.
- Lawmakers, advocacy groups and legal observers warn the finding matters beyond these grants because the White House is pursuing OMB rules to give political appointees greater control over roughly $1 trillion in annual federal grants.