Trump administration cuts nearly $8B in clean energy projects in states
that backed Harris
[October 03, 2025]
By MATTHEW DALY and MICHAEL PHILLIS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is cancelling $7.6 billion in
grants that supported hundreds of clean energy projects in 16 states,
all of which voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in last year’s
presidential election.
The move comes as President Donald Trump threatens deep cuts in his
fight with congressional Democrats over the government shutdown.
The Energy Department said in a statement Thursday that 223 projects
were terminated after a review determined they did not adequately
advance the nation’s energy needs or were not economically viable.
Officials did not provide details about which projects are being cut,
but said funding came from the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations,
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and other DOE bureaus.
The cuts are likely to affect battery plants, hydrogen technology
projects, upgrades to the electric grid and carbon-capture efforts,
among many others, according to the environmental nonprofit Natural
Resources Defense Council.
Russell Vought, the White House budget director, highlighted the
cutbacks in a social media post late Wednesday, saying money “to fuel
the Left’s climate agenda is being cancelled.”
He said projects are on the chopping block in: California, Colorado,
Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts,
Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon,
Vermont and Washington state.
Vought and the Energy Department did not explain how they came up with
their list of targeted states, considering that dozens of states have
clean energy projects. But all 16 targeted states supported Harris, and
in each of those states, both U.S. senators voted against the
Republican's short-term funding bill to keep the government working.
The cuts include up to $1.2 billion for California’s hydrogen hub that
is aimed at accelerating hydrogen technology and production, and up to
$1 billion for a hydrogen project in the Pacific Northwest. A Texas
hydrogen project and a three-state project in West Virginia, Ohio and
Pennsylvania were spared, according to clean-energy supporters who
obtained a list of the DOE targets.
Trump said in an interview taped Wednesday with One America News, a
conservative outlet, that his administration could cut projects
Democrats want — “favorite projects, and they’d be permanently cut."
"I’m allowed to cut things that never should have been approved in the
first place and I will probably do that,” Trump said. A clip from the
interview was released ahead of the full interview set to air Thursday
night.
Trump’s comments show that he and Vought are treating American “families
and their livelihoods like pawns in some sort of sick political game,”
said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.
“This administration has had plans in the works for months to cancel
critical energy projects, and now they are illegally taking action to
kill jobs and raise people’s energy bills,” she said in a statement.
“This is a blatant attempt to punish the political opposition.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the private sector has committed $10
billion for the state's hydrogen project, known as the Alliance for
Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems, or ARCHES. The cut threatens
over 200,000 jobs, Newsom said.
California Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla called cancelation of the
project “vindictive, shortsighted and proof this administration is not
serious about American energy dominance.”
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Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., right, and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.,
prepare for a news conference to speak about the government
shutdown, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, on Capitol Hill, in Washington.
(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
The California project is one of seven clean-energy projects from
West Virginia to Washington state selected by the Biden
administration for a $7 billion program to kickstart development and
production of hydrogen fuel, part of former President Joe Biden’s
agenda to slow climate change.
The Energy Department said it has reviewed billions of dollars
awarded by the Biden administration after Trump won the presidential
election last November. More than a quarter of the rescinded grants
were awarded between Election Day and Inauguration Day, the
department said.
“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.
Wright told CNN Thursday night that the cancellations had nothing to
do with the shutdown or politics. “These decisions are made —
business decisions on whether it’s a good use of the taxpayer money
or not. So, no, these projects will not be restored” when the
government reopens, he said.
While the current cancellations are in Democratic-led states, Wright
said other projects, including hydrogen proposals in West Virginia,
Texas and Louisiana, are being evaluated.
“We’ve announced project cancellations before in red and blue
states. And as this fall goes on, you’ll see cancellations in red
and blue states,'' Wright said. “We’ve got to save Americans money."
Award recipients have 30 days to appeal the Energy Department’s
termination decision.
The Trump administration has broadly targeted climate programs and
clean energy grants, and is proposing to roll back vehicle emission
and other greenhouse gas rules it says can’t be justified. Last
week, the Energy Department rescinded $13 billion that was intended
for clean energy projects. The money was authorized by Congress in
the 2022 climate law signed by Biden but had not yet been spent.
Democrats and environmental organizations were quick to slam the
latest cuts, saying they would raise energy costs.
"This is yet another blow by the Trump administration against
innovative technology, jobs and the clean energy needed to meet
skyrocketing demand,'' said Jackie Wong, a senior vice president at
NRDC.
Conrad Schneider, senior director at the Clean Air Task Force, said
the move “pulls the rug out” from dozens of communities and workers
that are counting on the projects. It also "weakens the U.S.’s
position in the global marketplace'' for innovative energy
technologies, he said.
___
Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed
to this report.
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