Judge Blocks Termination of $14 Billion Climate Grants

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from terminating $14 billion in grants awarded to three climate groups by the Biden administration. U.S. District Judge Tonya Chutkan ruled that the government's claims of fraud were "vague and unsubstantiated" and therefore insufficient to justify ending the grant program.

The grants, totaling $20 billion, were awarded through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, also known as the "green bank" program. The program was created by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act to finance clean energy and climate-friendly projects.

The three climate groups, Climate United Fund, Coalition for Green Capital, and Power Forward Communities, had sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, and Citibank, which holds the grant funds. The groups argued that the EPA had illegally denied them access to the funds and that the allegations of mismanagement and fraud were baseless.

Judge Chutkan's ruling prevents the EPA from ending the grant program and also blocks Citibank from transferring the funds to the government or anyone else. However, she declined to order Citibank to unfreeze the account, instead preserving the status quo while the case proceeds.

Climate United Fund was awarded nearly $7 billion, the Coalition for Green Capital won $5 billion, and Power Forward Communities was awarded $2 billion. Republicans have denounced the grant program as an unaccountable "slush fund" and unanimously voted against the law that created it.

The EPA had moved to terminate the grants after freezing the funds, citing allegations of mismanagement, fraud, and self-dealing. However, Judge Chutkan found that these allegations were not supported by sufficient evidence.

Climate United CEO Beth Bafford welcomed the judge's decision, saying it was "a step in the right direction." The EPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.