Fourth Circuit Court Approves Trump’s Grant Terminations
TL/DR –
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned a lower court’s ruling that prohibited the Trump administration from terminating or freezing grant funding for environmental justice, agricultural and climate programs, affecting six cities and 13 nonprofit groups. The Trump administration had paused or terminated grants as part of a review and elimination of equity-related programs. The federal Court of Special Claims could now decide on the restoration of specific grants, while a U.S. District Court could potentially hear broader questions regarding the legality of the Trump administration’s elimination of congressionally approved programs.
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Environmental Grants Frozen by Trump Administration Remain Unresolved
A recent ruling by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has left six cities and 13 nonprofit organizations unable to reclaim millions of dollars in grant funding. The court overturned a lower ruling that prevented the Trump administration from terminating or freezing grant funding dedicated to environmental justice, agricultural, and climate programs. The three judges Paul Niemeyer, Allison Rushing, and Toby Heyten indicated that the lower court had “abused its discretion” in issuing injunctions against the administration.
Implications of the Ruling
The decision to restore certain grants could now be handled by the federal Court of Special Claims, a body that settles monetary and contractual disputes with the U.S. government. Additionally, the U.S. District Court may examine broader questions about the legality of the Trump administration’s termination of whole congressionally approved programs, according to Kym Meyer, senior litigation director for the Southern Environmental Law Center.
Meyer represents several plaintiffs in this case, stating that “executive branch agencies have no authority to cancel entire grant programs mandated by Congress.” The affected grants were halted or eliminated a year ago as part of a sweeping review and termination of equity-related programs by the Trump administration.
The Plaintiffs’ Perspective
The plaintiffs, which include CleanAIRE NC, the Organic Association of Kentucky, and the Bronx River Alliance, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration last March. They argued that the actions of the administration were unconstitutional as Congress had allocated funding for the environmental and climate grants in the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
In their suit, the plaintiffs also claimed that the government’s actions were “arbitrary and capricious” and violated the Administrative Procedures Act, a law that governs how federal agencies develop and issue regulations. The U.S. District Court Judge Richard Gergel sided with the plaintiffs and ordered the government to immediately restore funding for 32 of the 38 programs.
In June, however, the administration’s lawyers successfully appealed for a stay at the Fourth Circuit, which paused the lower court’s ruling. The Appeals Court heard the case in October.
The Government’s Defense
The Justice Department, defending the administration, classified the dispute as a contractual matter rather than a constitutional one. The appellate judges largely concurred with this perspective. They noted that there is no statute obligating the government to specifically contract with the plaintiffs.
One of the plaintiffs, CleanAIRE NC, based in Charlotte, had received a $500,000 Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving grant from the EPA in June 2024 to monitor air quality in four underserved communities in northern Mecklenburg County. The organization conveyed their disappointment and resolve after the ruling. Jeffrey Robbins, CleanAIRE NC’s executive director, stated that this is not the end of the road, and that the coalition will continue its fight for the restoration of the entire grant program.
Possibilities of Further Legal Battles
The 19 plaintiffs in the case still have an opportunity to challenge the reasoning behind the Trump administration’s broad grant cancellations in federal district court. The appellate judges cited a pivotal U.S. Supreme Court decision from last August. In this case, National Institutes of Health v. American Public Health Association, the Supreme Court determined that federal district courts did not have jurisdiction to hear cases about the administration’s cancellation of research-related government grants.
However, Justice Amy Coney Barrett differed from the other conservative justices on whether the government’s guidance that informed the cancellations could be challenged in traditional federal courts. “We have clear evidence that this administration terminated not just individual grants but entire grant programs, like the Environment and Climate Justice block grant program,” Meyer said. “We look forward to following the Fourth Circuit’s direction to present this evidence to the district court, and requesting the funding be restored.”
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