Federal officials acknowledge canceling grants based on election results

The Trump administration has admitted in court papers that it cancelled research grants based on how states voted in the 2024 election. Officials wrote that the grants were ended "based solely" on political reasons, not because of poor performance or wasted money. About 284 research grants were cancelled, along with over $7.5 billion in clean energy funding. The cancelled grants were mostly in states that voted against Trump. At the same time, the administration kept hundreds of energy grants in Republican states, even though the Energy Department had recommended cancelling them. The admission came in response to lawsuits, including one from University of California researchers. The federal government controls over $1 trillion in grants each year across education, energy, health, and housing.