Energy Secretary Chris Wright justified the termination of 24 energy projects allocated $3.7 billion by Congress, during a Senate panel on Wednesday. Wright said the clawbacks were the first round of scrutiny by a newly created review board that is probing 500 authorized ventures set to receive $300 billion in funding through 2032.
“DOE is undertaking a thorough review of financial assistance that identifies waste of taxpayer dollars, protects America’s national security, and advances President Trump’s commitment to unleash American energy dominance,” he told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in a two-hour June 18 hearing on his department’s proposed $46.3 billion fiscal 2026 budget request.
“These projects failed to meet the economic, national security or energy security standards necessary to sustain DOE’s investment, and taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize them,” Wright said, noting the terminated projects were among “179 awards worth $15 billion” reviewed with all but 24 passing muster.
