Democratic lawmakers accused the Trump administration of abusing its energy after officers admitted in a federal courtroom submitting they beneficial terminating a number of billion {dollars} in grants for clean-energy initiatives based mostly “solely” on states’ “political identity” and whether or not President Donald Trump received the vote there in the 2024 election.
In a July 15 submitting that is a part of a category motion lawsuit searching for to overturn the choice, officers stated the Energy Department despatched to the Office of Management and Budget an inventory of greater than 600 grants it beneficial be canceled from recipients in states the place former Vice President Kamala Harris received the vote, and that have two senators that caucus with Democrats. Ultimately, the Office of Management and Budget terminated 284 grants in October 2025.
The transfer is in line with Trump’s broader second-term push to hunt retribution against a range of perceived political opponents – and along with his aggressive efforts to stymie federal funding in Democratic-led states. Earlier this 12 months, the administration tried to freeze $10 billion in funding for social companies from 5 blue states earlier than dropping that effort.
In February, the Federal Emergency Management Agency launched greater than $5 billion in long-delayed catastrophe help to states, however left out several Democratic-led states the place Trump had clashed with governors. The Department of Homeland Security denied politics performed a task in the choice.
Those developments got here throughout the top of an unprecedented effort by OMB Director Russell Vought to exert new authority and energy over the federal spending course of — a push that quickly accelerated in the wake of sweeping fraud allegations in Minnesota late final 12 months.
The revelation of the administration’s transfer to chop grants in states the place Harris received the electoral votes was first reported by the New York Times. The plaintiffs in the case, a bunch of University of California researchers, argue the Trump administration focused federal grants for termination based mostly on political causes.
In the July 15 submitting, the DOE stated it “accepts that the inclusion of grants in the October notice tranche was based solely on the political identity of the grant recipient’s state, i.e., whether the recipient’s location and/or place of performance was in a Blue State or a non-Blue State.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, referred to as DOE’s admission “unprecedented Trumpism and something we should never become numb to.”
“Trump admits he’s ripping the rug out from under hardworking families so he can get revenge on the Americans who didn’t vote for him. It’s sick and deranged,” Schumer wrote on X. “His ego is so fragile, he’ll punish families already struggling to put food on the table for a little bit of vengeance.”
Maryland US Rep. Jamie Raskin stated the Trump administration’s actions are a “deep betrayal of America,” including that the funds needs to be restored to blue states instantly.
“This mass partisan retribution is appalling, outrageous, dangerous, lawless, unconstitutional, unpatriotic and a massive offense against the Republic,” Raskin wrote on X. “Trump knew how important these Biden-era grants were to the American people, which is why he did not cut them off to the red states, but did cut them off to the blue states.”
Ohio Rep. Marcy Kaptur and Washington Sen. Patty Murray, Democrats who sit on the appropriations committee in their respective chambers, stated in a joint statement Friday, “This is an astounding admission that the President and his team corruptly abused their power to kill good jobs and punish hard-working families because of their political views.”
“Weaponizing the Federal government like this is outright un-American,” the lawmakers added.
NCS has reached out to the White House, Energy Department, Office of Management and Budget and Justice Department for remark.