The Trump administration has admitted in court filings that it cancelled 284 federal research grants solely because they were tied to states that voted against Trump in the 2024 election.
Trump Team Admits Grant Cuts Targeted Anti-Trump States
The Trump administration has admitted in court filings that it cancelled 284 federal research grants solely because they were tied to states that voted against Trump in 2024, NBC News reports.
The admission surfaced in a filing responding to a lawsuit by University of California researchers challenging the terminations. Of 624 Department of Energy grants marked for cancellation, officials said 284 were flagged by the Office of Management and Budget in October 2025.
DOE’s Jeff Novak wrote that, with one exception, every terminated grant involved a state that backed Kamala Harris and has two Democratic senators, while grants left untouched belonged to Trump-voting or Republican-represented states. He said the decision wasn’t tied to programmatic, cost, or performance factors.
The Department of Energy pushed back Friday, with press secretary Ben Dietderich insisting no termination decisions were politically motivated.
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