Whitehouse Condemns Trump Administration’s Unlawful Rescissions, Defends Congressional Authority Over Clean Energy Funding

Washington, DC—Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW), issued the following statement after two judges on a three-judge panel on the DC Circuit Court allowed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to nullify a congressionally appropriated grant program that invests in affordable clean energy deployment that would spur economic development, lower energy costs, and reduce pollution.  In an opinion by Judge Neomi Rao, the Court lifted an injunction against EPA that had barred it from seizing congressionally obligated funding that was already sitting in private bank accounts for grantees of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF).  

“Congress appropriated this funding, and EPA obligated and disbursed it under clear statutory authority.  The Trump Administration has waged a lawless campaign of disinformation and overreach by freezing grants, fabricating fraud, and attempting to seize funds being invested in projects that lower families’ energy bills, protect communities during extreme weather events, and generate good-paying local jobs.

“Judge Neomi Rao is clearly auditioning for Trump’s Supreme Court.  She is parroting the same debunked talking points Administrator Zeldin trotted out in his baseless witch hunt against cost-saving clean energy investments.

“The legal battle endures—and so does the fight to protect the integrity of Congress’s power of the purse.”

In her dissent, Judge Nina Pillard rightfully pointed out that EPA has failed to provide any evidence of abuse, mismanagement, or insufficient oversight, a fact Judge Rao ignored.   Judge Pillard also refuted Judge Rao’s assertions about the format of the grant agreements, writing that “federal financial agents” are “routinely appointed” and are “specifically authorized by statute.”   Similar grant agreements have been used by the United States Government since the 1860s, including during the first Trump Administration. 

Whitehouse recently co-led 32 Senators in calling out the Trump Administration for unlawfully rescinding GGRF funding.  He previously condemned EPA’s illegal termination of the Solar for All program and its illegal attempts to use the One Big Beautiful Bill Act as justification for clawing back already obligated funds.  Ranking Member Whitehouse  has also led colleagues in demanding answers from EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin about the agency’s lawless crusade to terminate GGRF, including a previous freeze on Solar for All funding.  Tellingly, the lawmakers have received no substantive responses to those inquiries.  Administrator Zeldin gaslit the American public, fabricating claims of fraud in those programs without producing any evidence, and he lacks the legal authority to terminate agreements with GGRF grantees in all three programs absent a clear record of waste, fraud, or abuse—something multiple courts have said he has failed to provide.  

Litigation against the Trump Administration for freezing and attempting to terminate legally obligated GGRF grants remains ongoing.