The Trump administration has acknowledged in court filings that it canceled billions of dollars in clean-energy grants to California and other Democratic-leaning states while allowing hundreds of similar grants in Republican-leaning states to move forward, intensifying accusations that federal funding decisions were driven by politics rather than project performance.
The admission came in a federal court filing connected to a lawsuit brought by University of California researchers and other plaintiffs challenging the Trump administration’s cancellation of federal grants.
“DOE accepts that the inclusion of grants in the October notice tranche was based solely on the political identity of the grant recipient’s state…” Department of Energy (DOE) lawyer Jeff Novak wrote in the legal filing.
According to the filing, 284 energy grants were terminated because they were located in states that voted for Harris and were represented by two Democratic-caucusing senators. Federal attorneys said the grants were not selected for cancellation based on performance, cost savings, or other programmatic criteria.
The disclosure appears to contradict previous statements from Energy Secretary Chris Wright and other administration officials who said grant terminations were based on economic viability and energy priorities rather than politics.
Here’s what to know about the case.
Which California grants were affected?
The Department of Energy announced in October that it was terminating billions of dollars in clean energy awards nationwide, including ones in California. The canceled projects included funding for:
Upgrades to electric grid infrastructure.
Clean hydrogen development projects.
Battery manufacturing and storage initiatives.
California was among the states hit hardest by the cuts.
According to California members of Congress, the administration canceled 79 California energy grants totaling roughly $2.1 billion, along with another $1.2 billion in anticipated funding tied to the state’s ARCHES hydrogen hub project.
The California-led Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems, known as ARCHES, was designed to help establish California as a national leader in hydrogen fuel production and clean-energy manufacturing. The court filings referenced projects including hydrogen hubs in California and the Pacific Northwest among those affected by the grant cancellations
Court filing outlines political criteria on canceling clean energy grants
The most striking revelation in the filing involved how the grants were selected.
Federal attorneys acknowledged that nearly all of the terminated grants were located in states that voted for Harris in 2024 and had Democratic Senate representation. They further stated the grants were not included in the cancellation list because of project performance, statutory concerns or cost-saving considerations.
At the same time, hundreds of grants that had also been recommended for termination remained intact because they were located in states that voted for President Donald Trump or had Republican Senate representation, according to the filing.
The Trump administration has pushed back on claims that the filing proves political considerations drove the underlying review process. Energy Department spokesman Ben Dietderich told multiple news outlets that descriptions of the filing as an admission of politically motivated grant cancellations are a “misrepresentation” and argued that Department of Energy staff evaluated projects without considering politics.
The administration argues there is a distinction between the Energy Department’s review of projects and the White House budget office’s later decision about which grants to include in the October cancellation notice. Officials contend Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s previous testimony to Congress — in which he said “no decisions were made on politics” — referred to the department’s evaluation process rather than the final selection of grants announced by the White House.
What California politicians are saying about canceled clean energy grants
California Democrats have sharply criticized the revelation.
Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, along with Rep. Zoe Lofgren and other members of California’s congressional delegation, previously requested a federal watchdog investigation into canceled energy grants affecting California projects.
In a December statement, Schiff said the grant cuts reflected what he called an “unlawful campaign of vengeance” against California and argued that the administration had openly admitted targeting blue states. He said the cancellations threatened jobs and could increase energy costs for Californians.
Padilla similarly argued that the canceled funding would harm California energy projects and worsen affordability challenges for residents. He welcomed an inspector general review into the administration’s actions.
“The Trump Administration’s unlawful cuts of billions of dollars for California energy projects — including over $2 billion in Republican-represented districts — is making Donald Trump’s affordability crisis even worse,” Padilla said
National Democratic leaders also seized on the court filing. Sen. Patty Murray of Washington and Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio issued a joint statement Friday calling the grant cancellations an “outright un-American” weaponization of federal power and accusing the administration of punishing states because of their political views.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Court filing bolsters claims California targeted in Trump grant cuts