Attorney General Neronha, coalition sue Trump Administration for illegal termination of energy and infrastructure funding
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Attorney General Peter F. Neronha today joined a coalition of 13 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s unlawful termination of funding for energy and infrastructure programs created by Congress in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, challenges the decisions by the United States Department of Energy (DOE), DOE Secretary Chris Wright, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and OMB Director Russell Vought, to terminate billions of dollars in energy and infrastructure awards nationwide.
“Once more, this Administration can’t seem to grasp the fundamentals of the Constitution,” said Attorney General Neronha. “Of course, they know they are breaking the law; they just don’t care. Congress, not the President, has the power of the purse, and Congress allocated this funding to help states move towards a clean energy future upon which future generations will rely. Whether or not clean energy aligns with this President’s policy goals is irrelevant; he cannot and will not sideline the will of Congress. Further, by targeting blue states here, the President is once again reaffirming what we know to be true: he and his Administration are far more concerned with retaliation and retribution than with doing anything to better the lives of the American people. We will win here, like we have in every other case of this kind, because we are right on the law.”
On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued executive orders declaring a “national energy emergency” and “terminating the Green New Deal.” By late March, DOE compiled a list targeting at least $22 billion in cuts to DOE-funded energy projects based on its assessment that those projects did not align with the Administration’s policy goals. And in May, DOE issued a memorandum outlining a vague, open-ended policy for evaluating on a case-by-case basis whether funding grants conformed to national interests and Administration priorities.
In September 2025, as a government shutdown loomed, the President told reporters he could “do things during the shutdown that are irreversible” to attack Democrats, including “cutting programs that they like.” On October 1, the day the federal government shut down, OMB Director Vought announced that DOE would cut “nearly $8 billion in Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left’s climate agenda” followed by a list of states within which projects would be cut. The next day, DOE announced 315 award terminations representing $7.56 billion of the funds appropriated under the IIJA and the IRA. All domestic terminations exclusively affected states that voted for the Democratic candidate in 2024; comparable projects in Republican-leaning states were spared.
In Rhode Island, DOE canceled three grants totaling $14 million which would have funded research on offshore wind development and other clean energy infrastructure initiatives.
In the complaint, the coalition argues that the Trump Administration’s decision to eliminate energy programs created by Congress is unlawful because it violates the separation of powers and the Administrative Procedure Act. The coalition asks the court to declare the Administration’s actions unlawful and to permanently enjoin the Administration from interfering with these programs.
Joining Attorney General Neronha in filing today’s lawsuit are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.
