A federal judge blocked the EPA from terminating $14 billion in grants awarded to three climate groups by the Biden administration. (iStock)
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.
Zeldin said Tuesday that the grants were awarded "in a manner that deliberately reduced the ability of EPA to conduct proper oversight." (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
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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.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/judge-blocks-trumps-epa-from-terminating-14-billion-green-bank-grants-after-accusations-fraud