The Trump administration admitted that it terminated nearly 300 federal research grants “solely because” the projects were connected to states that voted against President Donald Trump in 2024 and had two Democratic senators in office, according to court filings. The revelation marks an explicit acknowledgment of partisan motives behind the cuts, which officials previously denied.
The Department of Energy’s internal documents, obtained through litigation, confirm that 284 grants were terminated in October 2025 because their recipients were located in states that voted for Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 or had two Democratic senators. Jeff Novak, the department’s principal deputy general counsel, wrote that these cancellations were not based on any programmatic, statutory, cost-reduction, or performance-based factor.
Administrative Admission of Political Motive
The admission emerged in a court filing responding to a lawsuit by University of California researchers challenging the cancellations. Novak’s statement, which the Department of Energy later attempted to downplay, explicitly acknowledged that the grants were removed 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.
This contradicts earlier assertions by Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who repeatedly denied political motivations, calling such claims “bulls—t.”
The press secretary for the Energy Department, Ben Dietderich, argued the filing misrepresented Novak’s words, stating, None of the termination decisions were based on political considerations.
However, the court documents directly contradict this, noting that the department will not contend that it looked beyond the prime grantee(s) to consider the political identity or geographic distribution of downstream beneficiaries of the grant funds.
State-Specific Cancellations and Reactions
OMB Director Russ Vought, who announced the cuts, claimed they targeted Nearly $8 billion in Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left’s climate agenda is being cancelled,
listing 16 states in a social media post. However, the court filing revealed that grants in Republican-leaning states, even those recommended for cancellation, were left intact.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker condemned the decision, highlighting that $583 million in grants for energy projects was canceled. He demanded a $1,700 refund per household, citing $8.68 billion in damages from Trump’s policies. Donald Trump is not the president of MAGA,
Pritzker stated, but the president of all America.
Proposed Rule and Broader Implications
The cancellations are part of a broader effort to reshape federal grant oversight. A proposed rule, backed by the Office of Management and Budget, would allow political appointees to review and terminate grants deemed inconsistent with the president’s priorities. The policy, outlined in a 400-page document, would require grants to demonstrably advance the President’s policy priorities
and avoid anti-American values
or racial preferences.
The Department of Energy’s own filing acknowledged that the 2025 cancellations were not based on any programmatic, statutory, cost-reduction, or performance-based factor,
raising questions about the rule’s true intent.
Unresolved Questions and Next Steps
The legal battle over the grants continues, with plaintiffs arguing the cancellations violate federal law.
As the administration finalizes its grant rule, the question of accountability lingers. Will the courts intervene to block the policy, or will the new framework grant political appointees unprecedented control over $1 trillion in annual federal funding? For now, the admitted political motive behind the 2025 cancellations underscores a shifting landscape in how federal resources are allocated—and who decides their fate.
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