Judge temporarily bars EPA from clawing back $14B in green bank grants

A federal judge in Washington, D.C. has temporarily barred the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from clawing back billions of dollars given out under the Biden administration to help finance climate friendly projects.

The Trump administration sought to end the grants, which are part of a $20 billion climate program, claiming “waste, fraud and abuse.”

But Judge Tanya Chutkan, an Obama appointee, found that the agency was unable to provide evidence of wrongdoing.

Specifically, she said officials offered “no specific information about such investigations, factual support for the decision, or an individualized explanation for each Plaintiff."

"This is insufficient.”

Chutkan ordered that the EPA’s decision to terminate the grants cannot take effect and that the agency and Citibank, which is holding the funds, can’t transfer them elsewhere. 

In a statement on the ruling posted to X, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin vowed to continue to fight to get the money back.

“I will not rest until these hard-earned taxpayer dollars are returned to the U.S. Treasury,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, Climate United Fund, one of the groups suing for the reinstatement of its grants, called the decision a step in the "right direction.”

“Today’s decision is a strong step in the right direction. In the coming weeks, we will continue working towards a long-term solution that will allow us to invest in projects that deliver energy savings, create jobs, and boost American manufacturing in communities across the country,” said CEO Beth Bafford in a statement.

Zach Schonfeld contributed to this report, which was updated at 9:31 a.m. EDT