Federal judges order IRA funds to flow immediately

On Tuesday, April 15, Trump-appointed Judge Mary McElroy of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unlawfully terminated $20 billion in climate grants, according to Politico. That same day, Judge Tanya S. Chutkan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia also ordered the immediate release of up to $625 million in climate grants, according to The New York Times.

The funding freeze led to widespread confusion for contractors working on projects funded by the EPA, including its $7 billion Solar for All program. Six nonprofit organizations that were unable to access EPA-administered funds filed suit against the EPA, Dept. of Energy and other government agencies.

Judge McElroy found the plaintiffs adequately showed “at least three ways that the sudden, indefinite freeze of all already-awarded Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) money was arbitrary and capricious: it was neither reasonable nor reasonably explained.”

Further, the judge explained, “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 National Council of Nonprofits, one of the plaintiffs, celebrated the ruling as a “significant and promising step toward releasing Congressionally-approved and awarded funds appropriated under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021.”

“When the National Council of Nonprofits joined the lawsuit against the administration, our goal was clear: to challenge an unlawful and arbitrary freeze of funds that threatened critical on-the-ground services,” said the organization in a press statement. “This funding freeze has already caused serious harm in communities, as nonprofits that provide critical services to our country’s most vulnerable have been forced to scale back operations, cancel projects and consider laying off staff. This injunction offers much-needed relief and a path forward. We’re grateful the court recognized the urgency of the situation and allowed these important funds to begin flowing once again.”