NEWS: Sens. Schiff, Padilla Join Heinrich, Murray & Colleagues in Demanding Trump Administration Restore Funding for Energy Projects That Were Illegally Canceled and[...]

The letter follows an admission from the Trump administration that the decision to cancel energy project grants in states that did not vote for Trump was "based solely" on politics

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla (both D-Calif.) joined Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), and 35 of their colleagues in demanding that the Trump administration restore funding for the 223 energy projects canceled in October 2025. The Trump administration has since admitted to illegally canceling energy grants because those projects were in states that did not vote for President Trump in the 2024 election.

In California, this move targeted funding for 79 clean energy projects totaling over $2 billion, including $1.2 billion for the state's ARCHES hydrogen hub and funding for a backup battery system for a children's hospital. The administration's politically charged cancellations will lead to higher energy bills for Californians.

In December, the Department of Energy's Office of Inspector General agreed to launch an investigation into the cancellations after Schiff, Padilla, Lofgren, and colleagues requested they look into improper partisan conduct.

"Now that court documents have confirmed what we knew to be true, we write to demand that you restore previously awarded funding that the Trump administration has weaponized in an attempt to punish perceived political enemies," the Senators wrote in a letter to U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought.

"Once an administration begins punishing Americans for how they vote, the threat extends far beyond these projects: no state, community, business, or worker can trust that the federal government will apply the law fairly," the Senators continued. "This is not only an attack on jobs, affordable energy, and America's economic competitiveness. It is an attack on the rule of law and the basic democratic principle that the federal government serves the entire country-not merely those who support the President."

"At a time when energy prices are skyrocketing, the administration is hell-bent on political retribution instead of working to bring down costs for millions of Americans. The American people deserve to have a government that works for them-not one that is willing to push energy prices even higher and put the country's energy security at grave risk," the Senators concluded. "For the good of our country, the rule of law, and the American people, we demand that you change course and restore the previously awarded funding."

In addition to Schiff, Padilla, Heinrich, and Murray, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawai'i), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Mazie K. Hirono (D- Hawai'i), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Michael Bennett (D-Colo.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), and Angus King (I-Maine).

Background: Last year,Senators Schiff and Padilla and 28 members of the California congressional delegation urged the Department of Energy's Inspector General to launch an independent investigation into the unlawful termination of $7.6 billion in grants to California and other states targeted for their perceived lack of support for President Trump.

Schiff and Padilla also previously joined Heinrich and Murray's effort to demand the Trump administration restore funding for 223 energy projects in Democrat-led states that were unlawfully canceled.

The full text of the letter can be found here and below:

Secretary Wright and Director Vought:

Now that court documents have confirmed what we knew to be true, we write to demand that you restore previously awarded funding that the Trump Administration has weaponized in an attempt to punish perceived political enemies.

In October 2025, we wrote to you to express strong opposition to the Administration's callous decision to unlawfully terminate $8 billion in federal investments for 223 energy projects. You not only acted outside the bounds of the law, but canceled projects that would have provided jobs, onshored manufacturing, and lowered skyrocketing energy prices. Congress authorized those projects and appropriated funding under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and annual appropriation bills. At the time of the termination of those projects, we expressed outrage that the terminations appeared politically motivated and confined to states that then-Vice President Kamala Harris carried in the 2024 presidential election. The Administration has now admitted in federal court what it denied to Congress and the American people.

On July 24, 2026, citing court filings, The New York Times reported that the Trump Administration acknowledged that it terminated more than $7.5 billion of grants due to political motivations. In a two-step process, the Department of Energy (DOE) first recommended more than 600 grants for potential termination, including grants in states represented by both Republicans and Democrats. It appears the Office of Management and Budget then selected all the grants in "Blue States" for cancellation, which DOE executed. In court filings, DOE's lawyers conceded that the cancellations occurred "based solely on the political identity of the grant recipient's state." Specifically, as the court filings stated, "[w]ith 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 ("Blue State" grants)." Similar grants in Red States, however, remained intact and were not the subject of termination. What's more, DOE lawyers conceded that the decision to terminate these blue state grants was not "based on any programmatic, statutory, cost-reduction, or performance-based factor."

Once an Administration begins punishing Americans for how they vote, the threat extends far beyond these projects: no state, community, business, or worker can trust that the federal government will apply the law fairly. This is not only an attack on jobs, affordable energy, and America's economic competitiveness. It is an attack on the rule of law and the basic democratic principle that the federal government serves the entire country-not merely those who support the President.

At a time when energy prices are skyrocketing, the Administration is hell-bent on political retribution instead of working to bring down costs for millions of Americans. The American people deserve to have a government that works for them-not one that is willing to push energy prices even higher and put the country's energy security at grave risk.

For the good of our country, the rule of law, and the American people, we demand that you change course and restore the previously awarded funding.

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