Recent legal decisions have led to the unfreezing of crucial climate funds, impacting nonprofit groups reliant on federal support.
**Court Rulings Reverse Trump Administration's Freeze on Climate Funds**
**Court Rulings Reverse Trump Administration's Freeze on Climate Funds**
Two key rulings enable the release of significant climate funding, marking a shift in environmental policy.
Two federal court judges ruled on Tuesday to release hundreds of millions of dollars in federal climate funds that had been stalled under the Trump administration. This decision signals a crucial victory for nonprofit organizations that have been denied access to funding originally authorized by the Biden administration.
U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan from the District of Columbia ordered the immediate release of up to $625 million in climate grants previously frozen since mid-February due to the Trump administration's interventions. This funding was part of the $20 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, also referred to as the "green bank" program, which has faced opposition from Lee Zeldin, the current head of the Environmental Protection Agency.
In a separate ruling, Judge Mary S. McElroy of the federal court for Rhode Island mandated five federal agencies to unfreeze funding that had been designated for various environmental and infrastructure projects, benefitting numerous nonprofits. The judge highlighted that the freezes imposed by the Trump administration lacked reasonable justification and were "fundamentally arbitrary," according to evidence presented by the nonprofits in court.
These lawsuits are part of a broader legal battle against the Trump administration's decisions to halt billions in funding allocated through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, both passed in 2021 and 2022. Despite multiple court orders to release these funds, the administration has attempted to utilize legal loopholes to maintain the freezes, defending their actions as necessary to comply with executive orders issued since Trump took office.
U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan from the District of Columbia ordered the immediate release of up to $625 million in climate grants previously frozen since mid-February due to the Trump administration's interventions. This funding was part of the $20 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, also referred to as the "green bank" program, which has faced opposition from Lee Zeldin, the current head of the Environmental Protection Agency.
In a separate ruling, Judge Mary S. McElroy of the federal court for Rhode Island mandated five federal agencies to unfreeze funding that had been designated for various environmental and infrastructure projects, benefitting numerous nonprofits. The judge highlighted that the freezes imposed by the Trump administration lacked reasonable justification and were "fundamentally arbitrary," according to evidence presented by the nonprofits in court.
These lawsuits are part of a broader legal battle against the Trump administration's decisions to halt billions in funding allocated through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, both passed in 2021 and 2022. Despite multiple court orders to release these funds, the administration has attempted to utilize legal loopholes to maintain the freezes, defending their actions as necessary to comply with executive orders issued since Trump took office.
