Appeals Court Rules Trump Administration Erred in Cutting $20 Billion Climate Fund
A divided D.C. Circuit Court found the Trump administration improperly ended billions of dollars earmarked for clean-energy projects, siding with nonprofit groups that manage the program.
In a closely split decision, the D.C. Circuit Court ruled that the Trump administration’s termination of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund violated the law, granting a temporary reprieve to nonprofit managers of the program. The court’s full panel overturned a prior three-judge ruling that had given the EPA broad power to cancel the grants, marking a rare full-court review. EPA head Lee Zeldin had frozen the billions held in a Citibank account and accused the nonprofits of mismanagement, but the groups refuted the allegations and sued, asserting that Congress-authorized money could not be withdrawn.
Judge Tanya Chutkan had earlier ordered that the agencies could not retroactively claw back the funds, a ruling now on hold pending appeal. The green bank, created by the Inflation Reduction Act, was intended to finance small clean-energy projects, energy-efficient buildings and low-emission transportation. The administration’s attempt to rescind unspent allocations was part of its broader effort to roll back President Joe Biden’s climate agenda. The EPA may now seek Supreme Court intervention as the legal battle continues.
How this was covered
- Right-leaning outlets covered this 2h later
Why it matters
The ruling determines whether the government can withdraw billions pledged for climate projects, affecting future clean-energy financing.
How the sides frame it
LOW AGREEMENTLeft-leaning coverage frames the appeals court decision as a legal rebuke of the Trump administration’s attempt to cancel a multibillion-dollar climate grant program, while right-leaning coverage frames the same ruling as a blockage of the EPA’s effort to halt the grants, emphasizing the agency’s claim of improper fund distribution.
LEFT
The court found the Trump administration’s termination of the climate fund illegal, delivering a blow to the president’s climate-policy roll-back.
RIGHT
The court blocked the EPA’s move to cancel the grants, highlighting the agency’s assertion that the original fund distribution was improper.
The left emphasises
- the administration "likely broke the law" when it tried to cancel the program
- a "blow" to the president’s broader push to dismantle Biden-era climate policies
- the ruling that the termination "violated the law"
The right emphasises
- the EPA "claimed the original distribution through Citibank was improper"
- the appellate judges "revived a preliminary injunction" preventing the EPA from withdrawing the grants
- the agency acted on a "mere policy disagreement"
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