Overview

• The D.C. Circuit, in a 2-1 ruling, vacated a district court order that had blocked the EPA from terminating climate grants, holding that challenges to grant terminations belong in the Court of Federal Claims.
• The ruling allows the EPA to proceed with efforts to end or recover roughly $16 billion awarded to five nonprofits under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, with grant money previously held in frozen Citibank accounts.
• Judge Neomi Rao, joined by Judge Gregory Katsas, wrote that the grantees’ claims are essentially contractual and that any harm could be remedied by monetary damages, noting the government’s duty to ensure oversight of a multibillion-dollar fund.
• Judge Cornelia Pillard dissented, arguing the EPA had no lawful basis to interfere with the funds and warning that the majority’s approach weakens constitutional and Administrative Procedure Act checks on executive action.
• The nonprofits, including Climate United Fund, said the freeze has hampered operations and signaled plans to pursue further appeals, with the decision not taking immediate effect as they consider next steps.