2026-07-29 · contested story
Trump Administration Admits Canceling Grants to States That Did Not Vote for Him
On July 24, 2026, the Trump administration acknowledged in federal court filings that it terminated 284 federal clean energy grants worth $7.6 billion 'based solely on the political identity of the grant recipient's state'—specifically targeting states that voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 election and had two Democratic senators. Energy Department principal deputy general counsel Jeff Novak confirmed in the filing that '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, i.e., whether the recipient's location and/or place of performance was in a Blue State or a non-Blue State.' This admission contradicted months of denials from Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who had insisted 'No decisions were made on politics.'
Left-leaning outlets framed this as authoritarian corruption and weaponization of federal funds. MS NOW called it 'mafioso tactics' and Raw Story described it as 'weaponized' government power. The Guardian emphasized the administration 'admitted scrapping more than $7.5 billion in federal grants' based 'solely' on politics. Center outlets like NBC News, ABC News, and CNN presented the court filing admission as newsworthy fact while quoting Democratic lawmakers calling it 'corrupt abuse of power.' Right-leaning sources were largely absent from coverage or downplayed the story—NY Post ran it factually but emphasized Democratic outrage, National Review published an unrelated positive piece about the Columbia University settlement, and Fox News covered the separate October infrastructure freeze without mentioning the political criteria admission.
How each side frames it
left
"Team Trump gave up the game, effectively admitting in a legal filing that the 'mafioso tactics' claims were correct all along."
"We're talking about a White House that admits it withholds federal resources from states based on local voters casting ballots in ways the president doesn't like. Not to put too fine a point on this, but that sounds an awful lot like an impeachable offense."
"Team Trump approves disaster aid requests from red states, while rejecting comparable requests from blue states. Team Trump curtails healthcare funds, but only for states the White House doesn't like. Team Trump tried to freeze $10 billion in funding for social services programs in five states, but only blue states were impacted."
"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, and it's hardworking families already struggling with sky-high costs who are suffering the consequences of this corrupt abuse of power."
center
"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, i.e., whether the recipient's location and/or place of performance was in a Blue State or a non-Blue State"
"The Energy Department argued in a statement Friday that court filings did not show that termination decisions were made on a political basis. 'That is a misrepresentation of the court filing and of Mr. Novak's words,' Ben Dietderich, press secretary for the Energy Department, said"
"With one exception, the 284 terminated grants had a recipient location and/or at least one place of performance in a state that awarded its electoral votes to Kamala Harris in the 2024 election and has two Democratic-caucusing Senators"
"The grant cuts were announced back in October, just as the Trump administration was threatening Democrats over the government shutdown. At the time, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, forcefully denied that the Trump administration was playing politics with the grants"
"In the filing, the administration wrote as an undisputed statement of fact that on a list of more than 2,300 financial assistance awards across the Energy Department, 624 grants on these lists were designated either 'termination' or 'cancel.'"
right
"Democrats contend the filing demonstrates that Trump administration officials 'corruptly abused their power' to terminate grants solely on the basis of the political identity of the states receiving federal money."
"The Democrat shutdown has drained the Army Corps of Engineers' ability to manage billions of dollars in projects"
"A spokesperson for the Department of Energy told the New York Times that 'there is no contradiction' between Wright's testimony to Congress and the court filing."
"Columbia University specifically brought this upon itself with years of racial discrimination and persecution of disfavored minorities. For decades, America's elite academic institutions have, in fact, generally used their large government research grants as a shield from accountability"
"Vought has already targeted Big Apple funds, freezing nearly $18 billion in federal money on the first day of the shutdown for two of New York City's biggest infrastructure projects — the Hudson Tunnel and the Second Avenue Subway. Vought said that money was stalled 'to ensure funding is not flowing based on unconstitutional DEI principles.'"
What each side left out
The right left out — covered by the NBC News & The Guardian & ABC News & KARE 11 & MS NOW
- Court filing admission that grants were terminated 'based solely on the political identity of the grant recipient's state'
- Jeff Novak's signed statement acknowledging political criteria
- Energy Secretary Chris Wright's contradictory testimony that 'No decisions were made on politics'
The left left out — covered by the NBC News & NY Post
- Energy Department's denial that filing shows political basis
- DOE claim that acknowledgment referred to 'timing of announcement, not decisions themselves'
The left left out — covered by the NBC News & The Guardian
- Context that DOE reviewed 624 total grants across all states before OMB narrowed to 284 blue state grants
- That agreement avoided discovery process which could have revealed more damaging information
The right left out — covered by the ABC News & KARE 11 & The Guardian
- Democratic lawmakers' responses calling actions 'corrupt abuse of power'
- Attorney General Keith Ellison's criticism of discovery avoidance
- Senator Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar's October letter demanding restoration
The center left out — covered by the MS NOW
- Comparison to impeachable offenses
- Pattern of similar targeting across FEMA, healthcare, and social services
What's actually true?
[verified] The Trump administration terminated 284 federal grants worth $7.6 billion to states that voted for Kamala Harris in 2024
[verified] Jeff Novak, principal deputy general counsel of DOE, wrote that grants were terminated 'based solely on the political identity of the grant recipient's state'
[verified] Energy Secretary Chris Wright testified to Congress in June saying 'No decisions were made on politics. I keep hearing that charge. It's bulls---t.'
[verified] OMB Director Russ Vought announced the cuts in October writing 'Nearly $8 billion in Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left's climate agenda is being cancelled'
[verified] The Energy Department reviewed 624 grants for potential termination but only 284 were actually canceled, all in blue states except one
[verified] Minnesota lost $645 million in grants including more than $460 million for Midwest power grid strengthening
[verified] The court filing came as part of an agreement that neither plaintiffs nor the Trump Administration will seek discovery
[verified] The grants were canceled in 16 states: CA, CO, CT, DE, HI, IL, MD, MA, MN, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OR, VT, WA
The narrative clash
Whether termination decisions were based on political considerations
Left: 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
Right: That is a misrepresentation of the court filing and of Mr. Novak's words. None of the termination decisions were based on political considerations.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright's consistency on politics claim
Left: No decisions were made on politics. I keep hearing that charge. It's bulls---t. We're going to say it a million times
Right: A spokesperson for the Department of Energy told the New York Times that 'there is no contradiction' between Wright's testimony to Congress and the court filing.
What the filing acknowledgment referred to
Left: The acknowledgment of political considerations 'was referring to the timing of the announcement, not of the decisions themselves,' the spokesperson claimed.
Right: paraphrased: Court filing states termination was 'based solely on the political identity of the grant recipient's state'
Rationale for infrastructure freeze
Left: Vought said that money was stalled 'to ensure funding is not flowing based on unconstitutional DEI principles.'
Right: Nearly $8 billion in Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left's climate agenda is being cancelled
12 sources analyzed
NBC News Yahoo! Search abc17news.com The Guardian US abcnews.com Ground News NY Post Reason KARE11 AllSides Nat Review Fox News