As of January 12, 2026, the US District Court for the District of Columbia found that the Trump administration violated the Fifth Amendment when it canceled clean energy grants in 2025 based on whether the projects were located in states that voted for the president in 2024. [1] According to the court, “there is no rational relationship” between the location-based grant terminations and the government’s stated interest of aligning grant funding with agency priorities. The decision covers seven grants worth $27.6 million. The US Department of Energy’s terminations included more than $7.5 billion in financial awards. The lawsuit was filed in November 2025 by St. Paul, Minnesota, and a coalition of energy and community advocates, including the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). While the court decision impacts a limited number of grants, EDF officials stated that the court’s reasoning and legal holding would apply to “all who were subject to this unconstitutional action.”

[1] https://library.edf.org/AssetLink/qj678808620ih52ism862br428xshpaw.pdf