Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro announced on Monday that the Trump administration has released over $2 billion in federal aid that was previously frozen or held up. Shapiro had filed a lawsuit over the aid, accusing the administration of illegally withholding it. This move came after federal courts rejected the administration’s pause on federal funding and questioned their compliance with court orders.
Shapiro stated that he had pressed his case with senior Trump administration officials while in Washington, D.C. The U.S. attorney’s office in Philadelphia declined to comment on the matter. Trump administration lawyers argued in federal court that the freeze on funds was legal, characterizing it as a “pause” to determine the best use of federal funds. They claimed the case was moot since the Office of Management and Budget had rescinded its memo freezing grants and loans.
The aid that was released had been allocated by former President Joe Biden, including funding for energy efficiency upgrades, abandoned gas well cleanup, and greenhouse gas emission reductions. The lawsuit named five federal agencies as defendants, including the White House Office of Management and Budget and the Environmental Protection Agency. The Department of Energy has stated that it is complying with court orders, but did not confirm if the funding had been released as accused by Shapiro’s administration.
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