Energy Department cancels $7.5 billion for hundreds of projects, mostly in blue states

WASHINGTON — The Energy Department said Wednesday night that it would cancel more than $7.5 billion in Biden-era awards for hundreds of energy projects, with the vast majority located in states led by Democrats.

The move underscored how the Trump administration appeared to be using the government shutdown as a pretext to punish its political opponents. President Donald Trump said this week that if Democrats in Congress did not vote for a funding bill to keep the government open, he would “do things during the shutdown that are irreversible, that are bad for them.”

In its Wednesday announcement, the Energy Department did not specify which projects would see their funding terminated. But according to an agency document reviewed by The New York Times, the list of affected projects includes