Senators to Trump Administration officials: “Satisfying the President’s desire for political revenge and intimidation is not a lawful basis for your actions. It also betrays the callous indifference of this administration to the impacts of its decisions on everyday Americans. These are impacts that will be felt by Americans, regardless of their political views.”  

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and Patty Murray (D-W.A.), Vice Chair of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee were joined by 35 senators in sending a letter demanding that U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright and the U.S. Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought restore funding for 223 energy projects in Democrat-led states that were unlawfully canceled. The funding for these projects was approved and appropriated by Congress.  

Alongside Heinrich and Murray, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Tammy Duckworth (D-I.L.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Maria Cantwell (D-W.A.), Richard Blumenthal (D-C.T.), Ron Wyden (D-O.R.), Richard Durbin (D-I.L.), Ruben Gallego (D-A.Z.), Brian Schatz (D- Hawai‘i), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Jacky Rosen (D-N.V.), Mazie K. Hirono (D-H.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 (A.Z.), Michael Bennett (D-Colo.), Tina Smith (D-M.N.), Amy Klobuchar (D-M.N.), 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.). All 34 Democratic Senators from states with canceled grants and funding signed the letter. 

“We write in strong opposition to the Trump administration unlawfully cancelling $8 billion in federal investments in 223 energy projects,” the senators began. “For the 21 states with impacted projects, your cancellations will mean thousands of lost jobs for Americans, many of whom had every reason to rely on the stability of their jobs before these cancellations and all of whom will face uncertain job markets in our increasingly slowing economy.”  

“218 out of 223 projects that were terminated are in states with Democratic leadership. Even in programs where awards were made across all 50 states, such as the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships program, only projects in Democratically led states were cancelled—while similar projects in “red states” remain,” the senators wrote, slamming the Trump Administration for playing politics.  

“These are impacts that will be felt by Americans, regardless of their political views,” 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.”  

Read the full text of the letter here and below:  

Dear Secretary Wright and Director Vought: 

We write in strong opposition to the Trump administration unlawfully cancelling $8 billion in federal investments in 223 energy projects. 

Your cancellation of these projects will irreparably harm Americans in all the 21 states with impacted projects, and all additional states that rely on those projects. For the 21 states with impacted projects, your cancellations will mean thousands of lost jobs for Americans, many of whom had every reason to rely on the stability of their jobs before these cancellations and all of whom will face uncertain job markets in our increasingly slowing economy. It will mean lost educational opportunities for countless students at the now-cancelled university-led projects. It will mean difficulty obtaining private financing for impacted developers and utilities, not just on the now-cancelled grants but on other future opportunities that depend in any way on the stability of government permits, investments, and grants. It will mean less domestic manufacturing and innovation, all while diminishing America’s competitive leadership globally. And it will mean higher energy bills for households and businesses across the country, all of whom are already stretched thin thanks to the affordability crisis instigated by this administration’s tariffs and economic policy. 

The illegality of your cancellations is the only thing as indisputable as the harm your cancellations will wreak. The grants you terminated were authorized and appropriated under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and annual appropriation bills which were passed by Congress and signed into law. The Department must expend these funds and faithfully execute the law, including many programs that have strict requirements for the timing of fund expenditure, purposes, and contractual expectations. In cancelling these awards, the Department points to authority to cancel these awards under 2 C.F.R. § 200.340, which provides very limited circumstances under which federal awards may be terminated, such as if an entity fails to comply with the conditions of the award, if the federal government and the entity mutually agree to terminate the award, or if the entity notifies the government of its intent to terminate the award . You have provided no indication that these conditions apply here. 

Given the states impacted by these cancellations, the only criterion for cancelling the impacted projects appears to have been whether they were within Democratically led states. On this, the numbers do not lie: 218 out of 223 projects that were terminated are in states with Democratic leadership. Even in programs where awards were made across all 50 states, such as the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships program, only projects in Democratically led states were cancelled—while similar projects in “red states” remain. 

Satisfying the President’s desire for political revenge and intimidation is not a lawful basis for your actions. It also betrays the callous indifference of this administration to the impacts of its decisions on everyday Americans. These are impacts that will be felt by Americans, regardless of their political views. 

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.  

Sincerely,  

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