House science panel grills DOE secretary over budget, grant cancellations and energy strategy

Secretary Chris Wright told the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology that the Department of Energy's FY2027 budget centers on accelerating American scientific leadership through the Genesis mission, expanded fusion and nuclear initiatives, and investments in quantum and high-performance computing. Wright told the panel the administration's approach pairs national-lab capabilities with private capital to move discoveries toward commercialization.

The committee's opening exchanges framed the hearing as an oversight session: Ranking Member Miss Lorren accused the department of politicized grant terminations and mass personnel changes that she said harmed research programs and laboratory capabilities. She cited court findings and GAO reviews in arguing for additional oversight and more frequent engagement with the secretary.

Wright emphasized programmatic priorities in his opening remarks, including a newly finalized fusion roadmap and ARPA-style commitments to fusion research; he said the first new non-light-water reactor reached criticality on June 4 and described the Genesis mission as a nationwide effort to provide secure, shared scientific data and computing resources.

Lawmakers focused much of their questioning on three fault lines. First, members pressed Wright on the October 2025 portfolio review and award cancellations, citing GAO concerns that DOE did not provide sufficient documentation for some decisions. Wright said the department is engaging GAO and OMB and disputed claims that decisions were politically driven; he declined to provide the names of political appointees who took part in the internal review when asked on the record.

Second, members raised near-term energy affordability: several Republicans and Democrats tested Wright on how administration policy and global developments — in particular the conflict affecting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — have affected pump prices and electricity bills. Wright attributed recent price increases in part to the disruption in oil flows from the Middle East, and described strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) exchanges as trades rather than sales; he told the committee the SPR exchanges have so far returned on average about 1.28 barrels for each barrel released and projected that barrels returned would begin arriving next year.

Third, the hearing examined program integrity and procurement. Members asked about a reported $1 billion package of supercomputer-related awards made without open competitions; Wright said DOE issued solicitations and described arrangements in which developers would fund capital to install compute at national labs and DOE would receive a portion of the capacity. Multiple members also challenged staffing and oversight at the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations and asked whether sufficient project-management plans were in place.

Wright defended the department's reorganization, said DOE remains committed to basic science and to translating research into national advantage, and repeated requests for permitting reform and expansion of domestic critical-minerals processing. Several members asked how DOE's proposed budget would preserve scientific research, workforce programs and long-term climate and weather science; Wright said combined Genesis and core science funding would be roughly flat when counted together and pledged to work with appropriators.

The committee did not vote on any measure; the record will remain open for 10 days for follow-up questions and written materials.

The hearing highlighted ongoing lines of inquiry for the committee: documentation and rationale behind project cancellations; legal reviews and GAO's anti-deficiency concerns; the SPR exchange math and timing for returned barrels; oversight and staffing at OED; the balance between basic science and applied, commercialized research; and how DOE intends to measure Genesis's productivity claims. Members signaled further oversight and potential legislative responses depending on DOE's forthcoming documents and follow-up responses.