Washington (June 20, 2025) - Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.), co-chairs of the Senate Environmental Justice Caucus, today issued the following statement applauding the U.S. District Court of Maryland’s decision vacating the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s termination of grants awarded under the Thriving Communities Grantmaker (TCGM) Program. The court ruled that the EPA violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) in terminating funds that Congress appropriated for environmental justice programs.

“Wednesday’s court decision is vindication not just for environmental justice grantees, but for the communities they work with every day in pursuit of a livable future for all,” said the Senators. “Environmental justice grants, such as the TCGM Program, improve the health and well-being of communities in red and blue states that for generations have been last in line for federal investment. This administration’s vendetta against environmental justice, which Congressional Republicans have doubled down on in their Big Billionaire Boondoggle budget reconciliation bill, will only extend these legacies of harm and neglect. We urge Administrator Zeldin to follow the court’s order to reverse these grant terminations and resume funding reimbursements immediately.”

When Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act, it statutorily authorized the creation of environmental justice grants, including the TCGM Program, and directed the EPA to administer the grants. Despite this mandate, the Trump administration’s EPA has fueled chaos and uncertainty for environmental justice grantees, blindsiding these organizations with illegal and baseless terminations, freezes, and lock outs. As a result, grantees have been forced to pay for project costs out of pocket or cancel grantmaking projects altogether. In addition to cutting funding, the EPA terminated agency staff responsible for administering the funds, shutting off grantees’ access to information regarding the status of their awards. The judge’s decision included the following statement: “EPA contends that it has authority to thumb its nose at Congress and refuse to comply with its directives. That constitutes a clear example of an agency acting ‘in excess of statutory jurisdiction, authority, or limitations, or short of statutory right,’ and thereby violating the APA.”

The Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program was created under the Inflation Reduction Act to break down barriers that small, under-resourced community organizations face in securing federal funding. The program selected 11 regional grantmaking organizations to administer funds to thousands of projects that address environmental and climate justice challenges in their communities, including projects that enable fenceline air quality monitoring, water quality sampling, residential energy and water use efficiency upgrades, and lead and asbestos remediation.

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