Trump Administration Ordered to Unfreeze Billions in Biden-Era Climate and Infrastructure Funds

A federal judge has ordered the release of billions of dollars in funds for climate and infrastructure projects that had been paused by five federal government agencies.

The temporary, nationwide injunction instructs the Trump administration to release the funding from two Biden-era initiatives while a lawsuit brought by environmental nonprofits proceeds.

“Today’s ruling marks a crucial victory for the rule of law and ensures these vital resources will flow to the people and projects Congress intended to support,” said Skye Perryman, president of Democracy Forward, the legal group representing the plaintiffs, in a press release from the group.

The temporary injunction, issued by United States District Judge Mary McElroy, a Trump appointee, is the “largest release of this critical funding to date,” the press release said.

“We are pleased that a federal court has seen the Trump administration’s freeze of congressionally approved funds for what it is: another abuse of executive power that has already inflicted harm on communities nationwide,” Perryman said. “By blocking these investments in local communities and projects, the administration is jeopardizing public health initiatives, environmental protections, and economic stability.”

The environmental nonprofits filed the lawsuit in a U.S. District Court in Rhode Island last month following freezing of the funds, reported The Washington Post.

On the first day of his second term, President Donald Trump issued an executive order pausing the awards, which had been given as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

The lawsuit was originally filed on March 13 by Eastern Rhode Island Conservation District, Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation, Childhood Lead Action Project and the National Council of Nonprofits.

Defendants named in the lawsuit are the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Interior, Energy and Housing, as well as the Office of Management and Budget and the Environmental Protection Agency.

The complaint alleges that the freeze violated the Administrative Procedure Act, putting climate and infrastructure projects at risk.

President Joe Biden announces clean rural electrification funding via the Inflation Reduction Act at Vernon Electric Cooperative in Westby, Wisconsin on Sept. 5, 2024. Official White House photo / Cameron Smith

The plaintiff nonprofit groups described how funding from the IIJA and IRA was used for projects all over the country, including to train workers about lead safety, protect ancient giant sequoias, clear vegetation to lower wildfire risk and improve air quality for seniors.

McElroy said in Tuesday’s ruling that, while Trump was “entitled to enact his agenda,” the groups had shown the freeze was “arbitrary and capricious.”

“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,” McElroy wrote, as The Associated Press reported.