DOE Court Filing Says Energy Grants Were Cut Because They Were in “Blue States”

Democrats are pressing the Trump administration to restore billions of dollars in funding for energy projects after a senior Department of Energy (DOE) official acknowledged in court filings that grants were canceled because they were located in Democratic-leaning states, Gregory Korte reported for Bloomberg News.

Court filings have intensified scrutiny over the cancellation of billions of dollars in federal energy grants.

The admission came from Jeffrey Novak, the DOE's principal deputy general counsel, in court documents filed in a lawsuit brought by University of California faculty members and researchers whose grants had been terminated.

According to the filing, politics—not policy—drove the decision.

The DOE canceled nearly $8 billion in energy grants last October, shortly after a government shutdown began, as President Donald Trump sought leverage in negotiations with Democratic lawmakers over a federal spending bill.

Among the canceled projects was a $1.2 billion hydrogen hub in California that had been approved during the Biden administration.

In the court filing, Novak wrote: "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."

He further stated: "DOE accepts that the differential treatment resulting in the October 2025 termination of Blue State grants and the non-termination of non-Blue State grants was not based on a rational connection between the recipient's location and/or place of performance and DOE's past or current agency priorities."

Meanwhile, White House Budget Director Russ Vought defended the decision, saying on social media that "nearly $8 billion in Green New Scam funding" was being canceled.

According to the report, 16 states that voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election lost funding.