WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� The Environmental Protection Agency has terminated grant agreements worth $20 billion issued by the Biden administration under a so-called to finance clean energy and climate-friendly projects.
The action comes weeks after the which EPA Administrator has characterized as a 鈥済old bar鈥� scheme marred by conflicts of interest and potential fraud.
鈥淭wenty billion of your tax dollars were parked at an outside financial institution, in a deliberate effort to limit government oversight 鈥� doling out your money through just eight pass-through, politically connected, unqualified and in some cases brand-new" nonprofit organizations, Zeldin said in a Tuesday night.
The grants 鈥渞aise significant concerns and pose unacceptable risk,'' Zeldin added. 鈥淭he only way we can reduce waste, increase oversight and meet the intent of the law as it was written is by terminating these grants."
The terminations come as three of the nonprofit groups that received grants have filed lawsuits challenging the funding freeze ordered by the EPA. A hearing for one of the lawsuits is scheduled Wednesday in U.S. District Court.
Maryland-based Climate United Fund said the EPA and Citibank illegally denied the group access to $7 billion awarded last year through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, a Biden administration program created in 2022 by the and more commonly known as the 'green bank.' The freeze threatens the group's ability to issue loans and even pay employees, Climate United said.
Two other nonprofits, the Coalition for Green Capital and Power Forward Communities, have also , alleging that the bank improperly froze an additional $7 billion to finance climate-friendly projects for housing, low-cost electricity, clean air and water.
The three nonprofits are among eight groups tapped last year by then-EPA Administrator Michael Regan to receive $20 billion to finance to fight climate change and promote environmental justice. The money was formally awarded in August.
While favored by congressional Democrats, the green bank drew immediate criticism from Republicans, who routinely denounced it as an unaccountable 鈥渟lush fund.鈥� Regan .
, who was confirmed as EPA head in late January, quickly targeted the green bank as an example of Biden-era overreach. In a , Zeldin said the EPA would revoke contracts for the still-emerging bank. Zeldin cited a conservative journalist鈥檚 undercover video made late last year that showed a former EPA employee saying the agency was throwing 鈥済old bars off the Titanic鈥� 鈥� presumably a reference to spending before the start of Trump鈥檚 second term.
鈥淣ot only does EPA have full authority to take this action, but frankly, we were left with no other option,'' Zeldin said in the new video. 鈥淭his termination is based on substantial concerns regarding program integrity, objections to the award process, programmatic fraud, waste and abuse, and misalignment with the agency鈥檚 priorities."
Democrats defended the bank program and accused Zeldin of acting without legal authority or evidence of wrongdoing.
鈥淲ithout a shred of evidence, Administrator Zeldin is escalating his unfounded attempts to unilaterally terminate congressionally authorized and contractually obligated funding that would lower household energy costs, spur economic growth and cut pollution," said Rhode Island Sen. , the top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
Whitehouse called Zeldin's efforts to block the green bank 鈥渁 blatant giveaway to the fossil fuel megadonors who bankrolled" President campaign.
Zeldin's actions 鈥渨ill drive up energy costs, deepen our reliance on foreign oil and worsen climate change," Whitehouse said, accusing Zeldin of continuing what he called the Trump administration's 鈥渓awlessness and disdain for the Constitution."
Separately, Whitehouse challenged a criminal investigation into the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund by the Justice Department and FBI.
鈥淲ithout a true basis to interfere with these properly appropriated and obligated funds, it appears you reverted to a pretextual criminal investigation to provide an alternative excuse to interfere,鈥� Whitehouse wrote in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel.
Matthew Daly, The Associated Press
