The Aporia · Trump-Appointed Judge Smacks Down EPA’s Termination of Clean Energy Grants

Trump-Appointed Judge Smacks Down EPA’s Termination of Clean Energy Grants

Read the original at Mother Jones ↗

Cite

APA MLA Chicago

Green, A. (2026, September 23). Trump-Appointed Judge Smacks Down EPA’s Termination of Clean Energy Grants. Mother Jones. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/trump-appointed-judge-epa-termination-clean-energy-grants-solar-for-all-ruling/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration unlawfully terminated $7 billion in clean energy grants intended for disadvantaged communities, established under the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act. Judge Mary S. McElroy, appointed by President Trump, found that the EPA acted contrary to Congress’s intent when it canceled the Solar for All program after Trump's 2025 inauguration. The ruling mandates that the EPA release the funding, which was set to save families $350 million annually on electricity bills and support 200,000 jobs and workforce training opportunities across various states and communities.

Written by AI on 2026-09-23, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In August 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under President Trump terminated a $7 billion Solar for All program, aimed at making solar power accessible to over 900,000 lower-income Americans. The decision was made following the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which Congress believed would repeal the program's authorization and funding. However, on Friday, a federal judge in Rhode Island ruled that the EPA acted illegally by terminating the grants already awarded under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, established during the Biden administration as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.

Judge Mary McElroy, a Trump appointee, determined that Congress intended for the EPA to continue administering the Solar for All grants and vacated the termination. The ruling was supported by a coalition including labor unions, environmental groups like the Conservation Law Foundation, and nonprofits such as Rhode Island Center for Justice and Solar United Neighbors, who argued that thousands of union jobs would be created if the program resumed.

While the judge's decision does not immediately guarantee the release of funds, it could lead to significant changes in how clean energy initiatives are funded and implemented across the U.S., impacting both environmental goals and job creation in disadvantaged communities.

Written for “Solar Program Revival Judgment” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 14% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

Judge rules EPA illegally terminated $7 billion solar program intended to help poorer Americans Same event

Toronto Star

⚖️ Leans strongly left further left than this Hedges 1 of 22 claims Outlet record 64/100

Rhode Island federal judge orders revival of $7 billion Solar for All program canceled in 2025 Same event

Times of India

⚖️ Leans left Hedges 8 of 32 claims Outlet record 59/100

White House orders over $800M in funds rescinded Different event

ABC News (US)

Hedges 2 of 13 claims Outlet record 70/100

“Article A describes a federal judge's ruling against the Trump administration's termination of clean energy grants, while Article B discusses the White House rescinding funds across various programs under legal authority.”

Judge rules against Trump EPA efforts to terminate Solar for All program Same event

Washington Examiner

⚖️ Leans left Hedges 0 of 17 claims Outlet record 70/100

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

14%

3 of 22 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

Leans left

of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate

Publisher signals

95/100

Mother Jones's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Environment

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-09-23 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Mother Jones · 425 article(s) · 0 correction(s) detected

No corrections detected for this publisher. That may mean careful reporting, or simply that nothing has been checked.

Who wrote this

Amy Green

2 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 The ruling means the EPA will have to release the funding, said Nick Torrey, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center.

2026-09-23 · assertive framing · Trump-Appointed Judge Smacks Down EPA’s Termination of Clean Energy Grants

🔮 Local risk factors could be responsible for some of the disparities, although even when such factors were accounted for the gap remained large.

2026-09-10 · assertive framing · Soaring Insurance Prices Are Hitting Black and Hispanic Homeowners Hardest

Also by Amy Green

Soaring Insurance Prices Are Hitting Black and Hispanic Homeowners Hardest

2026-09-10 · Mother Jones

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Topics

Climate Desk Congress EPA Inside Climate News SFA

Subjects

EPA ORG · 6× Congress ORG · 2× Inside Climate News ORG · 2× SFA ORG · 2× Trump ORG · 2× Biden PERSON · 1× Climate Desk ORG · 1× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× The Conservation Law Foundation ORG · 1× The Environmental Protection Agency ORG · 1×

Narrative

The Solar for All (SFA) program, established during the Biden administration as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, provided dozens of grants for states, municipalities, tribes and nonprofits designed to reduce electric bills, create jobs, and address the greenhouse gas emissions warming the global climate.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-23

🔮 The ruling means the EPA will have to release the funding, said Nick Torrey, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center.

2026-09-23 · Mother Jones

Trump-Appointed Judge Smacks Down EPA’s Termination of Clean Energy Grants · assertive framing

Claims (22 extracted, 3 hedged)

This story was originally published by Inside Climate News and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. asserted

story → publish → collaboration

A federal judge has declared that the Trump administration unlawfully terminated $7 billion in grant funding for clean energy programs in disadvantaged communities. asserted

administration → declare → communities

program → establish → climate

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) canceled the program after President Donald Trump’s inauguration in 2025. asserted

Agency → cancel → 2025

The Conservation Law Foundation, Southern Environmental Law Center, Lawyers for Good Government, and Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island sued in the US District Court for the District of Rhode Island on behalf of workers, businesses, nonprofits, and individuals harmed by the withdrawal of funding. asserted

Foundation → sue → funding

“Congress’s clear intent was that EPA continue to administer the already obligated SFA grants,” Judge Mary S. McElroy, a Trump appointee, wrote in her ruling, issued Friday. asserted

McElroy → continue → ruling

“Defendants acted contrary to this intent, and with no other statutory authority, when they terminated the SFA program.” asserted

they → act → program

The ruling means the EPA will have to release the funding, said Nick Torrey, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center. asserted

Torrey → mean → Center

“We have seen this administration try to resist and appeal and fight,” Torrey said. asserted

Torrey → see → ?

“They don’t have any excuse for sitting on this money anymore. asserted

They → have → money

They have to get this money out.” asserted

They → have → money

The EPA argued the court lacked jurisdiction over the plaintiffs’ claims and that the claims were meritless. uncertain

claims → argue → claims

The federal agency told Inside Climate News it is “reviewing the decision and considering options for appeal.” asserted

it → tell → appeal

The EPA awarded the grants in 2024 and said at the time the program would save families $350 million a year on electricity bills and support 200,000 jobs and workforce training opportunities. asserted

program → award → jobs

Among the recipients was a coalition of nonprofits in Florida, which received $156.1 million to create new and expand existing solar programs for low-income communities in the state. asserted

which → receive → state

The program was canceled before much of the funding could reach communities, according to the groups involved in the litigation. uncertain

much → cancel → litigation

In 2025 Congress approved the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which repealed unobligated funding aimed at greenhouse gas emissions. asserted

which → approve → emissions

The groups argued the program’s termination was unlawful because the funding was already obligated. asserted

funding → argue → ?

The lawsuit was filed on behalf not of grant recipients but what the litigation described as “downstream beneficiaries.” asserted

litigation → file → beneficiaries

Among them were solar companies that invested in personnel and equipment based on funding awarded to the states of Georgia and Pennsylvania, a labor union that helped develop an implementation plan in Rhode Island, and a nonprofit that received a sub-award from a grant to the state of Indiana. asserted

that → invest → Indiana

Grant recipients filed two subsequent lawsuits against the EPA. asserted

recipients → file → EPA

State grant recipients also filed challenges in the Court of Federal Claims. uncertain

recipients → file → Claims