Judge rules that Trump's EPA terminated the $7 billion solar grant program illegally
A federal judge in Rhode Island ruled Friday that the Trump administration had unlawfully canceled a $7 Billion grant program intended to expand solar energy in low income?communities.
US District Judge Mary McElroy, in Providence, sided with several nonprofits, solar companies, and a labor union in finding that Environmental Protection Agency, under its administrator Lee Zeldin's leadership, overstepped its authority by rescinding grants that were previously given.
Plaintiffs included the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, and nonprofits like Solar United Neighbors, who were not direct grant recipients, but sued because they claimed to stand to benefit from Solar for All, a program that was started by Democratic President Joe Biden.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed by?Trump into law in July 2025, eliminated the funding source for the program. A month later, Zeldin terminated the program and called it a "boondoggle."
McElroy stated that the law of 2025 allowed EPA to retain more than $3 billion 'in funding? for?expenses relating to grant administration. The judge stated that Congress clearly intended for EPA continue to administer grants already awarded.
McElroy stated that "Defendants did not act in accordance with this intent and had no other legal authority when they terminated SFA."
The judge, a Trump nominee who was originally nominated as a candidate by Democratic President Barack Obama vacated the EPA's termination.
In a press release, the EPA said that it would review the decision and consider an appeal. EPA spokesperson Carolyn Holran stated that the?program perfectly encapsulated the spending habits of the previous administration: throwing money at the door without a care for?efficiency or oversight.
The EPA granted grants to 60 nonprofit organizations, tribes and state governments in 2024. The EPA said at the time that the program would benefit nearly 1 million homes in most?US States, reducing electricity costs and reducing emission.
The Inflation -Reduction Act, Biden's signature law on climate investments, was passed by Congress in 2022.
There are several lawsuits pending over the termination of the program. The Court of Federal Claims is a court that has jurisdiction over claims to recover funds lost due to grant terminations.
(source: Reuters)
