Trump Admin Cancels $7.5–7.6B Clean Energy Grants

The Trump administration ordered termination of roughly $7.5–7.6 billion in federal clean-energy awards, canceling between 223 and 321 projects across 16 states that voted for Kamala Harris in 2024. The Energy Department said individualized financial reviews found the awards did not adequately advance the nation’s energy needs or were not economically viable, while White House budget director Russell Vought described the cuts as killing a 'Green New Scam.' Canceled awards include large grants such as up to $1.2 billion for a California hydrogen hub, about $1 billion for a Pacific Northwest hydrogen project, and a $630.6 million transmission grant for California’s CHARGE 2T program. States report major impacts — Washington says roughly $1.1 billion in cuts affecting entities like PACCAR, Washington State University and the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub; Colorado estimates about $500 million in terminations; institutions in Connecticut and Minnesota also reported sizable losses. Democrats and state officials call the action retaliatory and politically targeted amid a federal government shutdown fight and are weighing legal challenges, while administration officials say the rescissions are fiscal reviews of Biden-era awards.