A federal judge delivered a sharp legal rebuke to the Trump administration Monday, ruling that it acted unlawfully when it canceled $7.6 billion in clean energy grants awarded to states that supported Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. The sweeping decision immediately reverberated across 16 states whose projects were abruptly halted last year, from hydrogen technology hubs to grid-modernization efforts and carbon-capture initiatives.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta wrote that the administration “freely admit[ted]” it based its cancellations on electoral maps rather than policy criteria, violating constitutional guarantees of equal protection. In his 17-page opinion, Mehta said officials provided no rationale explaining how terminating grants in states that voted for Harris advanced any legitimate government interest.
The Energy Department insisted the projects were scrapped for failing to meet economic or technical standards, and DOE spokesperson Ben Dietderich said the agency “stands by our review process.” But the judge rejected that argument, citing a documented pattern of targeting Democratic-leaning states while sparing similar projects in Texas and a tri-state hydrogen hub in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Clean-energy groups and local governments sued after losing funding, including the city of St. Paul and several environmental organizations. Vickie Patton, general counsel for the Environmental Defense Fund, said the ruling affirms that the administration acted “vindictively,” punishing states disfavored by the White House and imposing costs on Americans who rely on affordable clean energy.
Anne Evens, CEO of Elevate Energy, said reinstating the grants would boost innovation and jobs. “Affordable energy should be a reality for everyone,” she said.
The ruling marked the administration’s second defeat of the day. Earlier Monday, another federal judge allowed work to resume on a Rhode Island–Connecticut offshore wind farm, blocking the White House’s attempt to halt construction.
The canceled projects spanned California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington — all states that backed Harris in 2024.
