Federal judge mandates immediate release of climate and infrastructure funds
The judge ruled that President Donald Trump lacks "unfettered power to hamstring in perpetuity" laws regarding funding that have been properly enacted.
TroibNews 
A federal judge has determined that the EPA, the Interior and Energy Departments, along with other agencies, unlawfully paused funding under the climate and infrastructure spending laws championed by Democrats. The ruling mandates these agencies to immediately resume disbursing the funds.
Judge Mary McElroy of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, appointed by President Donald Trump in 2019, issued her ruling just before an anticipated decision from another judge in Washington regarding whether the EPA lawfully terminated $20 billion in climate grants. This case, along with others, is part of a complicated landscape of lawsuits concerning frozen funds and canceled grants occurring in various courts.
McElroy emphasized her intention to be "crystal clear" that the president has the authority to pursue his agenda. However, she stated, "agencies do not have unlimited authority to further a President’s agenda, nor do they have unfettered power to hamstring in perpetuity two statutes passed by Congress during the previous administration."
The lawsuit was initiated by six conservation and community groups that received grants under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and the bipartisan infrastructure law of 2021.
According to McElroy, the grant recipients demonstrated that the indefinite freeze on their funds was "neither reasonable nor reasonably explained," and noted that the agencies had failed to show “that they considered the consequences of their broad, indefinite freezes: projects halted, staff laid off, goodwill tarnished.”
She also dismissed the administration's assertion of having "broad powers" to pause funding. The judge remarked that agencies possess "narrower powers" to pause or terminate specific grants, but not in "cases of vast economic and political significance—like this one," referencing the Supreme Court's major questions doctrine that scrutinizes expansive claims of executive authority.
The plaintiffs included the Childhood Lead Action Project, which received $500,000 from the EPA to address childhood lead poisoning in Rhode Island; Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corp., awarded $750,000 from the Department of Health and Human Services for energy efficiency upgrades in elderly housing; and the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, which obtained $1 million from the Forest Service for urban forestry initiatives.
McElroy's order applies to all IRA and IIJA grants nationwide, extending beyond the groups involved in the lawsuit.
“It would be anathema to reasonable jurisprudence that only the named Nonprofits should be protected from the irreparable harms of the likely unlawful agency actions,” she stated.
Additionally, she rejected arguments from the Trump administration that claimed she lacked jurisdiction to issue this order because these issues should be handled as contract disputes in another court. Similar points have been raised by the EPA regarding litigation over its canceled climate grants.
However, she clarified that the rights of the nonprofits arise from laws enacted by Congress rather than any contracts with the government. The groups are pursuing an end to the funding freeze, not seeking "money damages" for previous harms, she noted.
Furthermore, McElroy dismissed the Trump administration's claim that a recent Supreme Court decision allowing the termination of Education Department grants should limit her authority. She contended that a "single three-page per curiam order granting a stay" does not negate precedents affirming her jurisdiction.
In a footnote, McElroy remarked on the irony that the grant recipients and the Trump administration altered their positions on the case following the Supreme Court's order, suggesting this underscored the difficulties of determining the precedential effects of emergency rulings.
Concluding her order, McElroy instructed the agencies to "take immediate steps to resume the processing, disbursement, and payment of already-awarded funding," and mandated that they report on their progress by 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
Representatives from the White House, EPA, Energy, and Interior Departments did not promptly respond to requests for comment.
Debra A Smith for TROIB News
Judge Mary McElroy of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, appointed by President Donald Trump in 2019, issued her ruling just before an anticipated decision from another judge in Washington regarding whether the EPA lawfully terminated $20 billion in climate grants. This case, along with others, is part of a complicated landscape of lawsuits concerning frozen funds and canceled grants occurring in various courts.
McElroy emphasized her intention to be "crystal clear" that the president has the authority to pursue his agenda. However, she stated, "agencies do not have unlimited authority to further a President’s agenda, nor do they have unfettered power to hamstring in perpetuity two statutes passed by Congress during the previous administration."
The lawsuit was initiated by six conservation and community groups that received grants under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and the bipartisan infrastructure law of 2021.
According to McElroy, the grant recipients demonstrated that the indefinite freeze on their funds was "neither reasonable nor reasonably explained," and noted that the agencies had failed to show “that they considered the consequences of their broad, indefinite freezes: projects halted, staff laid off, goodwill tarnished.”
She also dismissed the administration's assertion of having "broad powers" to pause funding. The judge remarked that agencies possess "narrower powers" to pause or terminate specific grants, but not in "cases of vast economic and political significance—like this one," referencing the Supreme Court's major questions doctrine that scrutinizes expansive claims of executive authority.
The plaintiffs included the Childhood Lead Action Project, which received $500,000 from the EPA to address childhood lead poisoning in Rhode Island; Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corp., awarded $750,000 from the Department of Health and Human Services for energy efficiency upgrades in elderly housing; and the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, which obtained $1 million from the Forest Service for urban forestry initiatives.
McElroy's order applies to all IRA and IIJA grants nationwide, extending beyond the groups involved in the lawsuit.
“It would be anathema to reasonable jurisprudence that only the named Nonprofits should be protected from the irreparable harms of the likely unlawful agency actions,” she stated.
Additionally, she rejected arguments from the Trump administration that claimed she lacked jurisdiction to issue this order because these issues should be handled as contract disputes in another court. Similar points have been raised by the EPA regarding litigation over its canceled climate grants.
However, she clarified that the rights of the nonprofits arise from laws enacted by Congress rather than any contracts with the government. The groups are pursuing an end to the funding freeze, not seeking "money damages" for previous harms, she noted.
Furthermore, McElroy dismissed the Trump administration's claim that a recent Supreme Court decision allowing the termination of Education Department grants should limit her authority. She contended that a "single three-page per curiam order granting a stay" does not negate precedents affirming her jurisdiction.
In a footnote, McElroy remarked on the irony that the grant recipients and the Trump administration altered their positions on the case following the Supreme Court's order, suggesting this underscored the difficulties of determining the precedential effects of emergency rulings.
Concluding her order, McElroy instructed the agencies to "take immediate steps to resume the processing, disbursement, and payment of already-awarded funding," and mandated that they report on their progress by 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
Representatives from the White House, EPA, Energy, and Interior Departments did not promptly respond to requests for comment.
Debra A Smith for TROIB News
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