Trump admits clean‑energy grant cuts hit Harris‑winning states

In a court filing the Trump administration acknowledged that it cancelled $7.6 billion in federal clean‑energy grants because the projects were located in states that voted for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. The Department of Energy had previously claimed the cuts were driven by economic or technical considerations, but the filing states the decisions were based solely on the political identity of the grant‑recipient states.

The cancelled funding covered 321 awards tied to 223 projects across 16 Harris‑carrying states, including California, New York, Washington, Oregon, Illinois and Colorado. Projects affected ranged from battery factories and hydrogen technology to electric‑grid upgrades and carbon‑capture facilities. Democrats on the House and Senate Appropriations committees – Rep. Marcy Kaptur and Sen. Patty Murray – said the admission confirms long‑standing suspicions that the administration used federal money as a political weapon.

The cuts have raised concerns about higher utility bills, job losses and slower progress toward cleaner energy and air quality. The decision is being challenged in court, with cases such as Thakur v. Trump and a separate lawsuit filed by clean‑energy groups and the city of St. Paul, Minnesota.