Federal Judge Orders Trump Administration to Restore Environmental Grant Funding

Thirteen nonprofits and six municipalities said they filed suit after they were forced to furlough employees and pause programs intended to benefit farmers, communities and public health.

A federal judge said Monday he would order the Trump administration to restore $176 million granted by Congress to 13 nonprofit groups and six municipalities nationwide.

The decision by Judge Richard Gergel, a U.S. District Court judge for the District of South Carolina, represents one of the first final judgments in a case challenging the Trump administration, as it has fired employees, frozen funding and dismantled agencies, according to the Southern Environmental Law Center. The organization, along with the Public Rights Project, filed the case on behalf of the nonprofits and municipalities from Baltimore to San Diego. The affected groups received funding for climate and environmental work through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act during the Biden administration, as well as through separate federal programs.

“This is a huge victory for us today,” said Kym Meyer, litigation director at the Southern Environmental Law Center and lead attorney on the case. She said the order would set an important precedent and characterized the decision as “a ruling that reaffirms that the executive branch doesn’t have the authority to disregard Congress.”

Gergel announced his decision during a hearing in Charleston that came after the Trump administration, in a filing Friday, said it would concede to the plaintiffs’ claims on 32 of the 38 grants. The judge said he would enter a final judgment calling on the administration to restore the funding immediately. The order was expected within a few days. Despite the administration’s concessions, its attorneys indicated they planned to appeal over jurisdictional concerns.

In their initial complaint, the plaintiffs had claimed that the executive orders freezing the grant funding represented an “unlawful interference by the executive branch” and also violated the First Amendment, which protects free speech. Two additional groups later were added as plaintiffs to the litigation. The plaintiffs said they were forced to furlough employees and pause programs supporting farmers, communities and public health.

Among the executive orders the litigation cited was “Unleashing American Energy,” intended to stop money designated under the IIJA and IRA, which provided historic funding for climate change and clean energy initiatives. The other orders were “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing” and “Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Cost Efficiency Initiative.” 

The 32 grants affected by the judge’s decision Monday were awarded under the IIJA and IRA. The other grants were provided under a Department of Agriculture program called Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities, which was cancelled in April over concerns about inefficient spending and alignment with Trump administration priorities. The Southern Environmental Law Center said it would continue to work to restore this funding.

In addition to the president, the litigation named as defendants several administration leaders and departments, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Trump initiative to slash spending, the Department of Government Efficiency. The EPA and USDA declined to comment on the pending litigation. The Department of Transportation and Department of Justice did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Cover photo:  Farmers participate in a regenerative agriculture workshop on May 31, 2022, in Cimarron, N.M. Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images