VICTORY: Federal court rules Trump admin’s grant terminations were illegal 

We sued when the Trump administration illegally blocked and then terminated a $2.8 billion federal grant program that communities were counting on to reduce pollution, lower energy costs, and prepare for the impacts of climate change.

And we won. 

A federal court just ruled that the administration’s termination of the Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grant Program was illegal. EPA now has a legal obligation to restore the program, and we will be pushing to ensure that happens quickly. 

This is a significant victory for communities that have spent years working to secure resources to improve public health, lower energy costs, strengthen climate resilience, and create healthier places to live. These projects never should have been halted in the first place. 

The ruling sends a clear message: no administration is above the law, and the White House’s political agenda cannot be used to deny communities the resources they were promised and sorely need. 

But victories like this don’t happen on their own.

For more than a year, our legal team fought to defend this program through motions, appeals, and countless hours in court and drafting legal briefs. We stayed in the fight because supporters like you made it possible.

Your support helps us hold powerful interests accountable, challenge unlawful actions, and protect the people and places that make the South special. And there is still more work ahead.

Attacks on clean air, clean water, climate progress, and environmental justice will continue under this administration. Everyone deserves a safe and healthy environment where they can thrive — SELC will keep showing up in courtrooms, statehouses, and communities across the South to defend the laws and protections that people need.