https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/july-24-2026
"Tony Romm and Brad Plumer of the
New York Times reported this afternoon that
the Trump administration’s claim last October that it was cutting programs in
order to protect taxpayers against waste was, in fact, a lie. In court filings,
federal officials admitted that the $7.5 billion in cuts from clean energy
projects begun under former president Joe Biden were “based solely” on whether
states had voted for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in the 2024
presidential election.
Office of Management and Budget director Russell Vought announced the cuts by
saying, “Nearly $8 billion in Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left’s climate
agenda is being cancelled.” But, in fact, a government lawyer told the court
that none of the cancellations were “based on any programmatic, statutory,
cost-reduction or performance-based factor.”
In contrast, the administration funded grants for states that had backed Trump
in 2024, even though the Energy Department had recommended they be cancelled.
The admission calls into question the administration’s claims that it is making
cuts to combat “waste, fraud, and abuse,” especially as Vought is working to
finalize rules that would make political appointees the final arbiters of how
the government would award more than $1 trillion in annual grants. Rather than
combatting waste, it appears Trump and his cronies are trying to take control
of the United States government, using the power of the American people for
their own ends.
Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker promptly pointed out that the cancelled grants
included $583 million intended for Illinois “that would have gone toward
lowering energy costs, strengthening grid reliability, and creating energy
jobs.” He demanded the funds be restored. “Despite what he might think, Donald
Trump is not the president of MAGA,” Pritzker said in a statement, but “the
president of all America. He must release remaining federal grants to Illinois
immediately.”
Pritzker can add the energy grants to Trump’s tab. After the Supreme Court
declared Trump’s April 2025 tariffs unconstitutional in February 2026, Pritzker
wrote a public letter billing Trump for an $8.68 billion refund to the people
of Illinois. “Your tariff taxes wreaked havoc on farmers, enraged our allies,
and sent grocery prices through the roof,” he wrote. “On behalf of the people
of Illinois, I demand a refund of $1,700 for every family in Illinois. There
are 5,105,448 households in my state, bringing the total damages you owe to
$8,679,261,600.” Pritzker reiterated that demand on July 20."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
