In a major win for the Trump administration, the D.C. Circuit Court ruled that Trump’s EPA can terminate $16 billion in climate grants, contradicting a previous ruling from a lower court. Specifically, Judge Neomi Rao stated the district court lacked jurisdiction, as the claims were contractual and belonged in the Court of Federal Claims.
For context, the EPA, managed by Administrator Lee Zeldin, pointed to oversight concerns and potential fraud. Additionally, a spokesman from the EPA praised the ruling and emphasized the importance of acting as good stewards of taxpayer funds.
However, woke activists, such as Climate United Fund’s CEO, Beth Bafford, slammed the ruling and vowed to continue her fight against the Trump administration. Specifically, Bafforded whined about massive grants for controversial clean energy projects.
In any case, Judge Neomi Rao issued a decisive statement on the ruling, which announced, “We conclude the district court abused its discretion in issuing the injunction. The grantees are not likely to succeed on the merits because their claims are essentially contractual, and therefore jurisdiction lies exclusively in the Court of Federal Claims.”
Continuing her elegant response, the principal judge stated, “And while the district court had jurisdiction over the grantees’ constitutional claim, that claim is meritless. Moreover, the equities strongly favor the government, which on behalf of the public must ensure the proper oversight and management of this multi-billion-dollar fund.”
Concluding her comments, she referenced infamous comments from a Biden-era employee who discussed spending money as quickly as possible before Trump assumed office. She noted, “The employee compared the situation to ‘throwing gold bars off the Titanic.'”
Reacting to the decision, an EPA spokesperson praised the decision, writing, “It’s fantastic to see reason prevail in the court system. EPA has a duty to be an exceptional steward of taxpayer dollars. Administrator Zeldin canceled these grants due to well-documented concerns about self-dealing and conflicts of interest, unqualified recipients, and intentionally reduced agency oversight.”
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Responding to the same infamous statement as Judge Neomi Rao, the EPA wrote, “The gold bar recipients were wrong about jurisdiction all along and wrong to act so entitled to these precious public funds that belong to hardworking American taxpayers.”
Melting down in epic fashion, Beth Bafford, CEO of Climate United Fund, complained about the ruling in a long and wordy statement. Bafford wrote, “While we are disappointed by the panel’s decision, we stand firm on the merits of our case: EPA unlawfully froze and terminated funds that were legally obligated and disbursed.”
Still not done with her complaints, the activist claimed, “This is another hurdle in our fight to lower energy costs for those who need it most while creating jobs for hardworking Americans, but we will continue to press on for communities across the country that stand to benefit from clean, abundant, and affordable energy. This is not the end of our road.”
Explainig the mission of his organization, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, noted, “Under President Trump’s leadership, EPA has taken a close look at our operations to ensure the agency is better equipped than ever to deliver on our core mission of protecting human health and the environment while Powering the Great American Comeback.”