Future Retirement Success
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks

Future Retirement Success

Politics

Judge blocks Trump’s EPA from terminating $14 billion in ‘green bank’ grants after accusations of fraud

by March 19, 2025
March 19, 2025

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Environmental Protection Agency from terminating $14 billion in grants awarded to three climate groups by the Biden administration.

U.S. District Judge Tonya Chutkan ruled that the federal government’s ‘vague and unsubstantiated assertions of fraud are insufficient.’ The order prevents the EPA from ending the grant program, which totaled $20 billion. The judge also blocked Citibank, which holds the money on behalf of EPA, from transferring it to the government or anyone else.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin claimed the grant recipients engaged in mismanagement, fraud and self-dealing in announcing that he froze and moved to terminate the grants, but the judge said Zeldin’s allegations were inadequate.

‘At this juncture, EPA Defendants have not sufficiently explained why unilaterally terminating Plaintiffs’ grant awards was a rational precursor to reviewing’ the green bank program, Chutkan wrote.

The grant recipients sued the EPA, Zeldin and Citibank, arguing that they had illegally denied the groups access to $14 billion awarded last year through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, commonly referred to as a ‘green bank.’ The program, which consisted of two initiatives worth $14 billion and $6 billion, respectively, was approved by Congress under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act to support clean energy and climate-friendly projects.

Three groups — Climate United, the Coalition for Green Capital and Power Forward Communities — said the frozen grants prevented them from funding new projects and might force them to lay off staff. The groups said the allegations of mishandling funds were meritless.

The groups also asked Chutkan to order Citibank to unfreeze the account, but the judge declined. The order only preserves the status quo as the case moves forward.

Climate United was awarded nearly $7 billion, the Coalition for Green Capital won $5 billion and Power Forward Communities — a group linked to Democrat Stacey Abrams — was awarded $2 billion.

Beth Bafford. CEO of Climate United, said the judge’s ruling was ‘a 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,’ Bafford said.

Zeldin said Tuesday on X that the grants were awarded ‘in a manner that deliberately reduced the ability of EPA to conduct proper oversight,’ adding that he ‘will not rest until these hard-earned taxpayer dollars are returned to the U.S. Treasury.’

Zeldin has described the grants as a ‘gold bar’ scheme involved in conflicts of interest and potential fraud.

‘Twenty billion of your tax dollars were parked at an outside financial institution, in a deliberate effort to limit government oversight — doling out your money through just eight pass-through, politically connected, unqualified and in some cases brand-new NGOs,’ Zeldin previously said in a video posted on X.

Climate United contended that the termination was unlawful, arguing the federal government had identified no evidence of waste, fraud or abuse.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
Iran trying to bolster its ‘battered deterrence’ with response to Trump threats against Houthis, expert says
next post
Successful legal challenges to Biden’s pardons over autopen signature ‘vanishingly low’: Turley

You may also like

DC Democrat fights own party over violent crime...

December 18, 2022

Conservative lawmakers wary over slowdown in government funding...

November 30, 2023

WI Gov. Evers appoints state’s first openly gay...

January 10, 2023

State Dept defends human rights abuse report changes,...

April 21, 2025

House to vote on $460 billion government funding...

March 6, 2024

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says leaked classified...

April 12, 2023

Trump hiring freeze prompts DOJ to pull job...

January 24, 2025

Kamala Harris calls House-passed Born Alive Act ‘extreme,’...

January 12, 2023

Here are the areas where Haley could put...

February 24, 2024

Trump picks Warren Stephens to serve as US...

December 3, 2024

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free

    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • America’s Not-So-Secret Secret Police

      August 7, 2025
    • Poll: Nearly 1 in 4 Americans Think They Have a Personal Social Security Account

      August 7, 2025
    • Republican senator claims RFK Jr. mRNA vaccine decision undermines Trump agenda

      August 7, 2025
    • Who is Anita Dunn? The Biden confidante who clashed with Hunter grilled in House autopen probe

      August 7, 2025
    • Case v. Montana Brief: Limit Loopholes to the Fourth Amendment

      August 7, 2025
    • Trump opens $9tn US retirement market to crypto in landmark executive order

      August 7, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (8,704)
    • Investing (2,184)
    • Politics (16,333)
    • Stocks (3,228)
    • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: futureretirementsuccess.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 futureretirementsuccess.com | All Rights Reserved