Judge Deals Major Blow to Trump in Fight With Climate Groups—for Now
A federal judge on Tuesday issued a temporary restraining order against Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency, stopping it from eliminating three nonprofit grant agreements made under the Biden administration and seizing back the funding.EPA head Lee Zeldin tried to eliminate the programs as part of his attack on Biden’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which Congress established in the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022. Zeldin posited that the program, like every other one the Trump administration doesn’t like, was a source of waste and fraud. But Judge Tanya Chutkan viewed these claims as “vague and unsubstantiated assertions,” according to Reuters.The ruling affects $13.97 million of grant funding awarded to Climate United, Coalition for Green Capital, and Power Forward Communities. Chutkan’s temporary restraining order prevents Citibank from transferring the grant money out of their accounts, despite the EPA order.While this certainly isn’t over, Chutkan’s ruling offers the environmental nonprofits temporary respite.
A federal judge on Tuesday issued a temporary restraining order against Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency, stopping it from eliminating three nonprofit grant agreements made under the Biden administration and seizing back the funding.
EPA head Lee Zeldin tried to eliminate the programs as part of his attack on Biden’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which Congress established in the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022. Zeldin posited that the program, like every other one the Trump administration doesn’t like, was a source of waste and fraud. But Judge Tanya Chutkan viewed these claims as “vague and unsubstantiated assertions,” according to Reuters.
The ruling affects $13.97 million of grant funding awarded to Climate United, Coalition for Green Capital, and Power Forward Communities. Chutkan’s temporary restraining order prevents Citibank from transferring the grant money out of their accounts, despite the EPA order.
While this certainly isn’t over, Chutkan’s ruling offers the environmental nonprofits temporary respite.
