DeLauro Statement on Trump Administration Admission to Terminating Grants Based on Political Party
***FACT SHEET*** In October, DeLauro and Kaptur Released a List of Projects Canceled by Congressional District
***WATCH*** DeLauro Questioned Secretary Wright on These Cancelations in April
WASHINGTON – House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) issued the following statement after the Trump administration admitted in court documents that they terminated energy grants based only on political considerations:
“This stunning admission from the Trump administration confirms what we have long known: they are weaponizing the federal funding process to punish people who did not vote for President Trump, and score political points with their extreme base while American families pay the price.
“The Office of Management and Budget is currently considering a proposed rule that would make this kind of politically motivated decision-making the norm. President Trump and Budget Director Russ Vought are trying to seize complete political control over the federal funding process and use it as a weapon to advance their ideological agenda.
“Funding decisions should be made based on legitimate needs, on peer review, on a neutral basis that does not favor communities because of the political party they chose to support.
“The Trump administration’s admission to this abuse is a reminder of how important it is that the power of the purse remain where the founders intended: in Congress, the branch of government most directly accountable to the people.”
Ranking Member DeLauro questioned Energy Secretary Chris Wright on this very topic on April 15 during the Fiscal Year 2027 Department of Energy (DOE) Budget Hearing.
Ranking Member DeLauro and Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Marcy Kaptur also issued a fact sheet when these grants were first terminated, calling out their blatant partisan nature.
In a court filing last week that was recently made public, Secretary Wright’s own lawyers attested that none of the grants terminated in October were terminated “based on any programmatic, statutory, cost-reduction, or performance-based factor.” Instead, the Department conceded, “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. DOE will not contend that it looked beyond the prime grantee(s) to consider the political identity or geographic distribution of downstream beneficiaries of the grant funds.”
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