NEWS ALERT: Judge blocks Trump’s EPA from terminating $14B in grants after accusations of fraud

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From Fox News: 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.

The identifies three groups who filed the lawsuit, and how much they had been awarded:

  • Climate United – nearly $7 billion
  • Coalition for Green Capital – $5 billion
  • Power Forward Communities (a group linked to Democrat Stacey Abrams) – $2 billion

The groups denied allegations they were mishandling the funds, and claimed the frozen grants prevented them from funding new projects and might force them to lay off staff.

According to the report, the judge left the fund frozen, but has blocked Zeldin from terminating the grants for now.

Zeldin released a statement after the judge’s ruling and vowed, “I will not rest until these hard-earned taxpayer dollars are returned to the U.S. Treasury.”

BACKGROUND ON THIS JUDGE:
Judge Tonya Chutkan, 62, was born in Jamaica, and was nominated as a judge for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia by Barack Obama in December 2013. She was confirmed by the Senate in June 2014 by a 95-0 vote.

Chutkan was the judge who presided over the legal case against then-former President Donald Trump about the events surrounding the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol, as he was accused to trying to overturn the 2020 election. She ultimately dismissed the case in November 2025, at the request of Special Counsel Jack Smith, after Trump won the 2024 election.

Journalist Julie Kelly announced:

As I predicted, Judge Chutkan unbelievably halts for now EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin cancellation of Biden era climate grants totally $20 billion sheltered at Citibank a few days before the 2024 election.

She also halts transfer of remaining funds back to EPA as Zeldin ordered.

For now, Citibank will have to continue paying out funds requested by these sham climate nonprofits including one tied to Stacey Abrams and one formed in 2023 that received $7 BILLION in taxpayer dollars in April 2024.

This despite the outrageous nature of the arrangement—hiding $20 billion at a bank away from Congressional oversight—and the fact the slush fund is under investigation by DOJ and EPA IG.

Journalist Nick Sortor wrote: “Leftist Judge Tanya Chutkan has BLOCKED EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin from terminating BILLIONS of dollars in climate grants. Zeldin had blocked nearly $20 BILLION in Green New Scam funding, and this judge is attempting to force taxpayers to pay it anyway. DO NOT PAY. HOW LONG ARE WE GOING TO TOLERATE THIS?”

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