When the Trump administration announced it was cutting more than 300 grants for energy projects across the country last week, it was clear whom the White House was trying to target: Democrats.
In response to the government shutdown, the Trump White House touted ending clean energy projects in 16 states — all of which went for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
But while most of the grants the Energy Department is canceling were set to benefit projects in Democratic congressional districts, an MSNBC analysis reveals that there are also a number of spending casualties in GOP districts, with at least 20 congressional Republicans representing seats affected by one or more of the scrapped grants.
Most of the canceled grants are valued at $1 million to $10 million. Some amount to tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars — lost injections of money that Democrats decried as “vindictive,” “a way to punish the political opposition” and “breaking the law.”
But for the Republicans representing those districts, the canceled projects don’t seem to be much cause for concern.
Of the roughly 20 Republicans whom MSNBC contacted for their reactions to losing the spending in their districts, only three responded by deadline. And only one directly raised concerns about the cuts, placing the blame more on Democrats than the Trump administration.
One of the lawmakers, Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., even praised the move, saying he “strongly” supports the Energy Department’s canceling the spending, which included projects in his district.
“Call me old fashioned, but I think that companies should make their money by pleasing their customers and not by using government to take money that families have earned by pleasing theirs,” McClintock said in a statement.
The Energy Department says it has terminated 321 grants supporting 223 projects, totaling more than $7.5 billion in savings. In select cases, however, some of the canceled line items were previously announced — like the $75 million grant for a project in McClintock’s district that would replace a natural gas-powered furnace for glass production with an electric melter.
(The list of cuts also includes a $4.5 million grant with ties to McClintock’s district aimed at expanding participation in a battery recycling program.)
Another of the GOP-held districts targeted by the cuts, in Northern California, is represented by Republican Kevin Kiley.
According to Energy Department data, at least two grants with ties to his district are getting canceled — $13 million to improve electric grid infrastructure and $189 million for Brimstone Commercial, which is working to reduce carbon emissions from cement manufacturing. (Again, reports show that the Brimstone cut was announced back in May.)
In a statement, Kiley told MSNBC, “The decision to fund or reduce funding for projects should be based on neutral criteria as to whether those projects advance the public interest and are a prudent use of taxpayer dollars.”
“Unfortunately, we are in Day 6 of a government shutdown — one that I voted to avoid, just as I voted against government shutdowns during the Biden Administration,” Kiley wrote.
He went on to make a notable break from House GOP leadership, urging Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to call the chamber back to Washington. (Johnson has said he will not bring the House back until Senate Democrats vote to reopen the government.) Rep. Mike Lawler of New York, one of three Republicans who won a district Harris carried last year, is set to have two grants with ties to his district canceled, including nearly $20 million for IBM. The Trump administration has also separately frozen $18 billion in infrastructure projects for New York City because of “unconstitutional DEI principles.” A spokesperson told MSNBC in a statement that Lawler is in “talks” with the Trump administration about the infrastructure and energy funding that is “currently in limbo.” “None of this would be happening if Senator Schumer and his caucus hadn’t shut down the government at the behest of Hakeem Jeffries,” the spokesman said, referring to the Senate and House minority leaders, both D-N.Y. “The fastest path to restoring these funds, in full, is for the Schumer Shutdown to end.” Asked for comment repeatedly, other Republicans did not respond, staying quiet about canceled projects like $20 million for a power company in Rep. Michelle Fischbach’s Minnesota district, $27 million for a power company based in the Colorado district of Rep. Gabe Evans and $50 million for a project with ties to Minnesota Rep. Pete Stauber’s district, aimed at upgrading the power grid. Meanwhile, top Republican leaders have defended the Trump administration’s right to cancel the grants. “Because they’ve decided to vote to shut the government down, they have now effectively turned off the legislative branch, the Article 1 branch of our government, and they’ve turned it over to the executive,” Johnson said last week. “When Congress turns off the funding and the funding runs out, it is up to the commander-in-chief … to determine how those resources will be spent.”
Kevin Frey is a congressional reporter for MS NOW.
Mychael Schnell is a reporter for MS NOW. Recommended
