A federal judge has put a temporary halt to President’s plans
Donald Trump
The Environmental Protection Agency prevented the termination of at least $14 billion in funds.
climate grants sanctioned under President Joe Biden
.
U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan in Washington, D.C., granted a temporary restraining order late Tuesday preventing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from unlawfully halting or ending the grant disbursements. Additionally, she instructed Citibank, responsible for distributing the funds, to provide the allocated monies to the grantees immediately.
This ruling delivers another blow to the Trump administration’s attempts to halt climate-related funding throughout the federal government.
A different federal judge made a decision on Tuesday.
that agencies must
unleash billions more for extra climate financing
That had remained halted since Inauguration Day.
Chutkan’s decision represents the most recent development in an unprecedented battle surrounding a grant initiative that is crucial to shaping President Biden’s climate legacy. Often referred to as a “green bank,” the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund has allocated vast sums—tens of billions in grants—for beneficiaries to pour into environmentally friendly technologies like solar panels.
heat pumps
, including electric vehicles and more.
Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency chief, Lee Zeldin,
said in February that he would try to claw back
The grants totaling $20 billion from Citibank have been criticized for being part of what some view as the Biden administration “throwing around vast sums of money hastily,” akin to “tossing gold bars off the Titanic” with urgency to disburse billions of taxpayer dollars. Additionally, both the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have initiated a criminal probe into this initiative, which stems from the key climate legislation signed by President Biden in 2022.
The organizations Climate United, Coalition for Green Capital, and Power Forward Communities filed lawsuits against both the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Citibank due to their lack of access to the granted funds. These three entities, which together received $14 billion, asserted in their legal documents that failing to obtain this financial support would result in “irreparable damage” to them.
Beth Bafford, the CEO of Climate United, voiced her relief over the decision on Tuesday.
Today’s ruling provides an opportunity to pause following the EPA’s unlawful termination of our grants and obstruction of funds approved by Congress and lawfully committed,” stated Bafford. “We underwent a rigorous one-year selection process before being entrusted with a task we have performed for many years: supporting community development and bolstering market stability. Our aim now is to resume our operations.
A representative from the Justice Department, who quickly filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, chose not to make any comments. However, an spokesperson from the Environmental Protection Agency expressed confidence that the appellate court would reverse the decision.
The DC District Court lacks authority to revive the $20 billion Biden-Harris ‘Gold Bar’ initiative,” stated spokeswoman Molly Vaseliou via email. “The grants have been canceled, and these funds now revert to the U.S. taxpayers. We firmly stand behind the validity of our appeal and will pursue all available measures to safeguard the money earned through taxation.
During an almost three-hour court session two weeks back, Justice Department civil division lawyer Marcus S. Sacks asserted that Judge Chutkan did not have the jurisdiction to preside over the disagreement. He maintained that the claimants should file a contract violation case with the Federal Claims Court instead.
But Chutkan appeared skeptical of this argument, and she pressed Sacks on why the federal government had not yet provided any evidence of fraud or another crime in connection with the funds.
“We have reached several weeks into this process, and you still haven’t provided me with any details about an investigation or misconduct,” she stated.
Chutkan also raised concerns that the Justice Department did not take the typical step of obtaining a court order to freeze the funds at Citibank. She cited
reported by The Washington Post
In two U.S. attorney’s offices, career prosecutors declined the Trump administration’s request to initiate a grand jury inquiry and pursue a court-mandated banking freeze. They argued that the officials did not provide sufficient evidence to justify a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.
Chutkan also posed difficult queries to the grant recipients, questioning whether they would genuinely face irreversible damage without prompt access to the funds. Attorney Adam Unikowsky, who represents Climate United, replied that although the organization has obtained “emergency funding,” it continues to have challenges meeting payroll obligations.
We’ve been compelled to postpone the compensation for our present staff,” Unikowsky stated. “We’ve also directed attorneys, excluding myself, to cease their operations. … Although we have received some short-term emergency funds, these resources won’t suffice until the conclusion of the case. Therefore, we can’t proceed further.
The organization Climate United, awarded the highest grant at almost $7 billion, intended to allocate most of these funds toward rolling out electric vehicles, setting up solar panel installations, and constructing environmentally friendly low-cost homes. The Coalition for Green Capital, receiving $5 billion, aimed to establish a nationwide system involving state and local green banks along with community lending institutions. Meanwhile, Power Forward Communities, securing a grant of $2 billion, committed to offering financial aid so families could purchase eco-friendly devices like heat pumps and induction cooktops.
Last month, in a decision made by Judge Chutkan,
imposed a provisional injunction
that prevented the EPA from reclaiming the money from Citibank. However, the ruling did not revive the recipients’ ability to access the funds, postponing that decision until after further court proceedings.
Meanwhile, numerous beneficiaries have had to delay crucial initiatives. For example, in southeastern Alaska, Native American tribes along with a non-profit organization have temporarily halted a program designed to enhance energy efficiency within the seafood industry. This includes plans for operating electric fishing boats and fitting solar panels onto seafood processing plants.
We are looking forward to the funds being released shortly,” stated Linda Behnken, who serves as the president of the board for the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust. This organization received financial support for their initiative through Climate United. “We’re eager to begin working on the project.