Federal Judges in Rhode Island Order Trump Administration to Release $400 Million in Frozen Climate and Research Funds Nationwide

A federal judge in Rhode Island has issued a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration, ordering the immediate release of billions in previously frozen funds designated for climate and infrastructure projects. The ruling mandates that five government agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Interior, and Department of Energy, resume funding that was paused by the administration. The decision, made by Judge Mary McElroy, a Trump appointee, applies nationwide and stems from a lawsuit filed by six nonprofit groups: Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, National Council of Nonprofits, Eastern Rhode Island Conservation District, Green Infrastructure Center, Childhood Lead Action Project, and Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corp. These groups argued that the sudden freeze of funds was arbitrary and capricious, and that the agencies lacked the legal authority to indefinitely halt funding authorized by Congress under the 2021 infrastructure law and 2022 climate law. In a separate case, another federal judge blocked the Trump administration's Department of Energy from implementing cuts to federal research funding at universities. This policy aimed to reduce indirect costs to a 15% reimbursement rate, affecting institutions like MIT, Princeton, and Caltech, which argued that such cuts would devastate scientific research and could lead to a loss of $400 million annually.