Jillian Blanchard, Vice President of Climate Change & Environmental Justice at Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG), issued the following statement in reaction to today’s U.S. District Court hearing on class certification in the first-of-its kind lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), challenging the Trump administration’s unlawful termination of $3 billion in Environmental and Climate Justice (ECJ) Block Grants:
"Yesterday’s hearing marks a meaningful step forward in the fight to restore long-promised public health and environmental justice funding to communities across the country. The stakes remain incredibly high for the hundreds of communities impacted by the Trump administration's unlawful cuts. The law and facts support class certification—and the court now has the chance to affirm that all grantees deserve their day in court.
“The hearing also highlighted the weakness of the government's legal arguments. The government’s attorney claimed that because the recent reconciliation bill (H.R.1) included a provision rescinding a smaller amount of unobligated funds from the Sec. 138 block grants, this demonstrates Congress intended to terminate the entire $3Billion Environmental and Climate Justice program. However, during the arguments, the government's own attorney was forced to admit that reconciliation bills like H.R.1 have no legal authority to rescind congressionally appropriated programs and that the obligated grant funds remain on EPA’s books. This specious argument—which we're seeing the administration deploy across multiple grant cases, including Climate United v. Citibank (Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund litigation) —demonstrates the executive’s willingness to flout Congressional intent and the rule of law, even in a courtroom.
"The administration's pattern of making legally unfounded arguments to justify unconstitutional funding cuts only reinforces what frontline communities already know: this is about politics, not law. These environmental justice grants represent commitments made by Congress to address longstanding environmental and economic harms and help local organizations build safer, healthier, and more resilient communities.
"With nationwide injunctions limited by the Supreme Court, certifying this class is the only realistic path to justice for many under-resourced groups. We'll keep fighting until these communities are heard and the resources Congress lawfully awarded are restored."
# # #
Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG) coordinates large-scale pro bono programs and issue advocacy efforts to protect human rights, defend the environment, and ensure equal justice under the law, and has a network of 125,000+ lawyers to assist in its efforts. lawyersforgoodgovernment.org