'Is it aligned with this agenda?': Trump Energy chief details new reviews for previously funded projects

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Tuesday that previously announced funding for energy projects could now be contingent on whether those projects are aligned with the Trump administration’s goals. 

Asked by Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) about an award to a glass company in her district that had been held up, Wright said that the department was reviewing hundreds of projects to determine, among other factors, whether they align with the Trump agenda.

“We haven't canceled any projects because we've been slow and careful and deliberative and developed a process, and in the next few months, we will run hundreds of projects … through our thing,” Wright told lawmakers during a House Appropriations Committee hearing.

“The simple little criteria we're looking at is legal? ... Is the technology viable? Is the engineering done competently? Is there a market for the thing that's being built? Is there a financial model that that cofunding is coming in together with the DOE funding so the project can be complete, and does it add to national or economic security? ... And is it aligned with this agenda?" he said. 

Kaptur pushed back, noting projects that have received such awards have already gone through a review. 

“That was already approved,” she said. "This is a very strange process, because those dollars were to be spent already as we work toward the [fiscal 2026] budget."

Wright’s comments come as the Trump administration looks to cut spending across the board using its Department of Government Efficiency, in particular targeting climate-friendly projects. 

Asked about job cuts during the hearing, Wright said the department was “restructuring.”

He said that when he started at the department, it had “a little more than 16,000” employees, and current staffing numbers are “a little less" than that.

He said that so far a “relatively small number, a few percent” have left.

Wright added with more job cuts expected in the months ahead, additional reductions are coming, but he said most would be voluntary employee exits.

“We're looking at how to restructure the department, how to make it more efficient, how to focus it on its key missions,” Wright said. 

“The changes in head count within the department will be done dominantly by voluntary retirements and delayed resignation programs,” he added. 

When Kaptur asked if he received an order to downsize his department, Wright said, "We've been given a mandate from the whole administration, to look like a businessman at all the departments and figure out how you can deliver improved services at lower cost inefficiencies.”

“I'm a believer that with a leaner, more focused team, we can deliver better results,” he added. 

A departmental document obtained by The Hill last month deemed just 60 percent of its employees essential, meaning some 7,000 other positions are not.

News outlet Heatmap reported last month that 2,500 department employees had applied for buyouts.