Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin vowed he wouldn’t give up the fight to terminate grants awarded by the Biden administration to “politically connected and inexperienced nongovernmental organizations” after a federal judge blocked the move.
“While the Biden EPA touted ‘tossing Gold Bars off the Titanic,’ these terminated grants, riddled with self-dealing and wasteful spending, are now frozen by court order," Zeldin said in a statement, noting billions in taxpayer money was given in a "manner that deliberately reduced the ability of EPA to conduct proper oversight.”
A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration from terminating $14 billion in grants awarded to three climate groups by the Biden administration, saying the government’s “vague and unsubstantiated assertions of fraud are insufficient.”
The order by U.S. District Judge Tonya Chutkan prevents — for now — the Environmental Protection Agency 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 accused the grant recipients of mismanagement, fraud and self-dealing and froze the grants. But after reviewing arguments in the case, Chutkan said Zeldin’s allegations fell short.
“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. (AP)
Zeldin said he wouldn't "rest" until the taxpayer money is returned to the Treasury.
“Every penny EPA spends will go towards our core mission of protecting human health and the environment, and Powering the Great American Comeback," he added.
My statement on the latest court ruling on the Biden EPA “gold bars” scheme ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/TdYrAETAwF
— Lee Zeldin (@epaleezeldin) March 19, 2025