We’re suing over the federal funding freeze
Since our nation’s founding, the Constitution has made it clear: Congress controls federal spending — not the president.
Yet the Trump administration is unlawfully ignoring this fundamental principle.
By freezing federal funding, they have blocked critical investments in energy-efficient affordable housing, food access programs, and support for local farmers — funding that is already strengthening our communities.
That’s why we’re suing the administration on behalf of 17 nonprofits and cities across the nation that have been impacted by the unlawful freeze. This chaotic process is destroying their ability to do important work to create jobs and improve lives — it sends a message that our government can’t be trusted to honor its commitments.
The administration’s wave of day-one executive orders not only halted this crucial funding but handed Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency the power to approve much of the future spending of these federal funds — a direct assault on the separation of powers that defines our democracy.
We can’t afford this delay: Communities across the South are already grappling with devastating impacts from climate-driven extreme weather, and these funds are essential to providing a livable climate for future generations.
The stakes are enormous: the South has received more than $20 billion in federal funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. That investment has spurred an additional $78 billion in private sector growth and supports more than 432,000 jobs in our region.
These essential federal funds were enacted by law. Freezing them is illegal and seeks to derail our climate progress and cause harm to our economy.