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The Trump administration is cancelling $7.6 billion in federal grants that supported more than 200 clean energy projects across 16 states — all of which voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in last year’s presidential election — a sweeping move that has inflamed political tensions amid an ongoing government shutdown.
The Department of Energy said Thursday that 223 projects were terminated following a review that found they “did not adequately advance the nation’s energy needs or were not economically viable.” Officials declined to specify which projects were affected but confirmed funding cuts from the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and several other DOE programs.
The cancellations hit a range of initiatives — including battery manufacturing plants, grid modernization efforts, hydrogen development hubs, and carbon-capture projects — according to the environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
White House budget director Russell Vought highlighted the cuts late Wednesday, boasting on social media that taxpayer money “to fuel the Left’s climate agenda is being cancelled.”
Cuts Concentrated in Blue States
The Energy Department confirmed that the targeted states are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington — all of which backed Harris in 2024.
The administration did not explain how those states were chosen, even as several red states host similar clean-energy projects that remain funded. Each of the 16 states’ Democratic senators also voted against the GOP’s short-term spending bill to reopen the government.
The cancellations include $1.2 billion for California’s Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems(ARCHES) and $1 billion for a Pacific Northwest hydrogen hub spanning Washington and Oregon. A Texas hydrogen project and a multi-state initiative in West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania were spared, according to clean-energy advocates.
President Donald Trump suggested in a Wednesday interview with One America News that the cancellations were intentional and politically motivated.
“I’m allowed to cut things that never should have been approved in the first place and I will probably do that,” Trump said. “Favorite projects — they’d be permanently cut.”
Democrats Call It Retaliation
Democrats accused the administration of using the shutdown to punish political opponents.
“This administration has had plans in the works for months to cancel critical energy projects, and now they’re illegally taking action to kill jobs and raise people’s energy bills,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.). “This is a blatant attempt to punish the political opposition.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the cuts threaten more than 200,000 jobs tied to ARCHES and jeopardize $10 billion in private investment.
“The state’s clean hydrogen project was set to lead the nation,” Newsom said. “This is reckless, vindictive policymaking that undercuts America’s energy leadership.”
California Sen. Alex Padilla echoed that criticism, calling the move “proof this administration is not serious about American energy dominance.”
DOE Defends Decision as Fiscal Responsibility
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the review was intended to ensure taxpayer money supports “affordable, reliable, and secure energy,” adding that the cancellations “deliver on President Trump’s commitment” to fiscal prudence.
DOE officials said more than a quarter of the rescinded grants were awarded between Election Day and Inauguration Day last year, after Trump’s victory over Harris.
The Biden administration originally announced the $7 billion hydrogen hub program to accelerate development of clean fuels as part of the 2022 climate law.
Recipients now have 30 days to appeal the termination decisions.
Environmental advocates warned the abrupt cancellations could stall innovation and cost the U.S. its competitive edge.
“This pulls the rug out from dozens of communities counting on these projects,” said Conrad Schneider of the Clean Air Task Force. “It weakens the U.S.’s position in the global energy marketplace.”
NRDC executive Jackie Wong said the decision “will raise energy costs, kill jobs, and undermine the technologies we need to meet skyrocketing energy demand.”
The administration last week rescinded another $13 billion in climate grants and has proposed rolling back vehicle emission and greenhouse gas standards. Together, the moves signal a broad retrenchment of the federal government’s clean energy investments — and a major escalation in Trump’s political war with Democrats over the shutdown.
