Judge reinstates $7 billion Solar for All program after ruling it was unlawfully ended

In a decision issued Friday, District Judge Mary McElroy concluded that the Environmental Protection Agency acted beyond its statutory power by terminating the Solar for All program, which Congress had funded with $7 billion to expand solar access for low-income Americans. The EPA had withdrawn the grants in August 2025 following President Donald Trump's tax and spending legislation, with Administrator Lee Zeldin labeling the initiative a “boondoggle.”

The lawsuit, filed by the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, the Rhode Island Center for Justice, Solar United Neighbors and other groups, emphasized the program’s importance for creating union jobs and providing affordable clean energy. McElroy vacated the termination, effectively reinstating the program. Plaintiffs hailed the ruling as a major victory for states and workers, while the EPA has not yet commented. The case is part of broader challenges to the Trump administration’s cuts to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, a $27 billion “green bank” established under the 2022 climate law.