Kelly, Colleagues Demand Trump Administration Restore Funding for Illegally Canceled Energy Projects

The letter follows an admission from the Trump administration that the decision to cancel energy project grants in states that did not vote for Trump was “ based solely ” on politics Senators: “It is an attack on the rule of law and the basic democratic principle that the federal government serves the entire country—not merely those who support the President.” Today, Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Patty Murray (D-WA), and 36 other Democratic Senators sent a letter to U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought demanding that the Trump administration restore funding for the 223 energy projects canceled in October 2025. The Trump administration has since admitted to illegally canceling energy grants because those projects were in states that did not vote for President Trump in the 2024 election. The letter follows up on a letter Kelly and colleagues sent to the administration in October 2025 when projects grants were initially cancelled despite having been approved and appropriated by Congress, demanding the restoration of these funds. “Now that court documents have confirmed what we knew to be true, we write to demand that you restore previously awarded funding that the Trump administration has weaponized in an attempt to punish perceived political enemies,” the senators began. “Once an administration begins punishing Americans for how they vote, the threat extends far beyond these projects: no state, community, business, or worker can trust that the federal government will apply the law fairly,” the senators continued. “This is not only an attack on jobs, affordable energy, and America’s economic competitiveness. It is an attack on the rule of law and the basic democratic principle that the federal government serves the entire country—not merely those who support the President.” “At a time when energy prices are skyrocketing, the administration is hell-bent on political retribution instead of working to bring down costs for millions of Americans. The American people deserve to have a government that works for them—not one that is willing to push energy prices even higher and put the country’s energy security at grave risk,” the senators concluded. “For the good of our country, the rule of law, and the American people, we demand that you change course and restore the previously awarded funding.” Alongside Kelly, Heinrich, and Murray, the letter was signed by Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Alex Padilla (D-CA), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Peter Welch (D-VT), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Tina Smith (D-MN), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Angus King (I-ME). Click here to read the full letter.