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'Unconstitutional, abusive, immoral': Fmr. Gov. Inslee slams Trump for cutting grants to blue states

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Ali Velshi on Trump Canceling Federal Grants to States That Voted For Kamala Harris

The MS NOW host and Citizen board member is joined by former Washington Governor Jay Inslee to discuss how the Trump Administration is weaponizing federal grants for political punishment

Listen

Ali Velshi on Trump Canceling Federal Grants to States That Voted For Kamala Harris

The MS NOW host and Citizen board member is joined by former Washington Governor Jay Inslee to discuss how the Trump Administration is weaponizing federal grants for political punishment

BY Ali Velshi

Aug. 03, 2026

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When the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) canceled billions of dollars in federal clean energy grants in October 2025, California researchers sued on the grounds that these grants were canceled for political reasons. Out of 600 grants reviewed, the nearly 300 that were canceled were for projects located in states that voted for Kamala Harris in 2024. Ali Velshi weighs in as court documents come to light that confirm the grants were terminated for political revenge.

Lawyers for the DOE responded to the suit admitting in their filing that the canceled clean energy grants were chosen because they were being distributed to Democratic-leaning states whose electoral votes were awarded to Kamala Harris.

Velshi and Jay Inslee, former Governor of Washington, sit down to discuss the implications of a presidential administration making decisions on where federal dollars are invested based on politics. In a democracy where everyone pays taxes, Trump wants only those who voted for him to benefit.

A further irony is that climate change isn’t limited by state borders, and clean energy projects don’t just help the states they’re located in. By withdrawing federal clean energy grants, even those who voted for Trump are harmed.

“I’m only going to work for half the American people, those who are subservient to me,” Inslee asserts Trump is telling America. “This has got to be one of the most unconstitutional, abusive, immoral, unethical abuses by this man and there have been many.”

LISTEN: WEAPONIZING FEDERAL GRANTS FOR POLITICAL PUNISHMENT

 

WATCH: VELSHI AND INSLEE ON TRUMP ABUSING POWER WITH OUR TAX DOLLARS

 

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Host Ali Velshi, left, and former Washington Governor Jay Inslee discuss the Trump administration admission that federal clean energy grants were canceled for political revenge.

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