Judge sides with blue states against Trump grant cancellations
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Clean-energy advocates and a Minnesota city won a partial victory Monday when a federal court judge ruled that the Trump administration acted unlawfully when it canceled energy-related grants in blue states.
Why it matters: It's the latest example of the courts countering the administration's moves.
Driving the news: The city of St. Paul, Minn., and several energy and environmental groups argued in a November lawsuit that the $7.5 billion in energy project cancellations violated the First and Fifth Amendments.
- The city and groups contended that the projects targeted during the government shutdown were based on the political leanings of the states in which they're located.
- The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found in favor of the groups on their Fifth Amendment claim. But Judge Amit P. Mehta ruled the plaintiffs lacked legal standing for their First Amendment claims.
Zoom in: The ruling vacates the administration's termination of the awards for seven of the canceled projects.
- It doesn't mention the other grants canceled in the same announcement, which covered more than 200 projects.
- But Vickie Patton, general counsel for the Environmental Defense Fund, said her interpretation of the ruling is that it "would apply to all who were subject to this unconstitutional action violating equal protection of the law."
- An internal Energy Department watchdog announced last month it would audit all of the cancellations.
Flashback: White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought announced the cancellations in an X post. He described the money as "nearly $8 billion in Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left's climate agenda."
- Vought said funding would be cut for California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington state.
- Those states all voted for Kamala Harris in 2024, have Democratic Senate delegations, and most have Democratic governors.
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said DOE canceled up to $1.2 billion in funding for the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES), the state's hydrogen hub.
What they're saying: "The court recognized that the Trump Department of Energy vindictively canceled projects for clean affordable energy that just happened to be in states disfavored by the Trump administration," Patton said in a statement.
- Other groups involved in the suit included the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, Plug In America, Elevate Energy, and Southeast Community Organization.
The other side: "We disagree with the judge's decision and stand by our review process, which evaluated these awards individually and determined they did not meet the standards necessary to justify the continued spending of taxpayer dollars," the Energy Department said.
- "The American people deserve a government that is accountable and responsible in managing taxpayer funds."
Editor's note: This story has been updated with comment from the Energy Department.
