The Energy Department canceled billions in funding. Democrats say it’s retribution

The Department of Energy is cancelling more than $7 billion in funding for hundreds of projects that the agency said don’t address the country’s energy needs and aren’t economically viable.

The DOE issued the announcement late Wednesday, the first day of a government shutdown and hours after White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought said the Trump administration was cancelling nearly $8 billion in “Green New Scam funding.” Vought posted on the social media site X that the Energy Department funding was for projects in 16 states, all of which voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris.

The Energy Department said in a news release that it decided to terminate $7.56 billion for 223 projects after a “thorough, individualized review.”

“President Trump promised to protect taxpayer dollars and expand America’s supply of affordable, reliable, and secure energy. Today’s [cancellations] deliver on that commitment,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement. “Rest assured, the Energy Department will continue reviewing awards to ensure that every dollar works for the American people.”

The Energy Department has not released a list of projects that are subject to the cancellations. The department did not respond to messages seeking comment.

The funding awards were issued by six offices at the Energy Department:

• Clean Energy Demonstrations, which works with the private sector to advance a range of energy technologies, including hydrogen, advanced nuclear and energy storage
• Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, which promotes technologies that can lower energy costs and reduce the country’s dependence on fossil fuels
• Grid Deployment, which works on upgrading the country’s electric infrastructure 
• Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains, which invests in projects designed to improve the country’s economic and national security 
•  Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, which invests in cutting-edge energy technologies
• Fossil Energy, which funds projects to encourage domestic production of fossil fuels and critical minerals  

Wright said the Energy Department has been reviewing funding that was “rushed through in the final months of the Biden administration with inadequate documentation by any reasonable business standard.” Funding recipients have 30 days to appeal the terminations, the department said.

Responding to Vought’s announcement, Democratic lawmakers said that cancelling Energy Department funding is an effort by the Trump administration to punish Democrats during the government shutdown.

“Let’s open our eyes. This isn’t a functioning democracy any longer when — in the middle of a high stakes funding fight — the President illegally suspends federal projects in states run by Democrats as a way to punish the political opposition,” Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, posted on X.

A White House spokesperson, Anna Kelly, referred NPR to the Energy Department for comment.

Also on Wednesday, the Trump administration froze $18 billion in infrastructure funding for New York City, home to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both Democrats. Vought announced the funding freeze in a post on X.

Vought “has been dreaming about this moment, preparing [for] this moment since puberty,” Sen. Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah, said on Fox News. “Russ Vought has a plan, and that plan is going to succeed in empowering, further empowering Trump. This is going to be the Democrats’ worst nightmare,” Lee said.

The move to cancel Energy Department funding comes as electricity demand is expected to rise significantly for the first time in decades. In the face of rising power demand, the Trump administration has been taking steps to limit the construction of renewable energy projects. Utility executives and analysts have said clean energy projects are crucial to help power new data centers and factories, because they can be built quickly and produce electricity that is relatively cheap.

“Ripping funding away from only blue states will raise utility bills for EVERYONE,” Sen. Jeff Merkley, a Democrat from Oregon, posted on X. “It’s not rocket science.”