The EPA acted reasonably in freezing $20 billion worth of Biden-era environmental grants, because the grant agreements were changed in a way that made oversight “exceedingly insufficient,” the agency told a federal court on Wednesday.
The agreements were modified on two occasions, both after the 2024 presidential election, to limit the Environmental Protection Agency’s contractual rights, according to a Justice Department filing opposing the grant recipients’ motion for a preliminary injunction.
As a result, the EPA was left with “insufficient authority to retain control of funds short of outright termination,” according to the government’s motion filed in the US District ...