Appeals court blocks Trump administration’s termination of multibillion-dollar clean-energy grant program

A divided federal appeals court on Aug. 4 blocked the Trump administration’s termination of a multibillion-dollar grant program supporting clean-energy projects, ruling that the administration acted improperly in ending the Biden-era initiative.

The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is a setback for the administration’s effort to dismantle the program. It also gives a legal victory to the nonprofit coalition selected to administer the grants.

The legal dispute centers on nonprofits that had been selected to run the Biden-era effort. Their selection made the coalition a direct party to the conflict over whether the administration could terminate the program after the grant process had advanced.

The decision could preserve federal support for clean-energy projects that depend on the grant program. It may also constrain the administration’s ability to cancel programs created by Congress or awarded through a competitive process.