In a significant turnaround, the newly appointed head of the EPA announced that he will cancel $20 billion in awards for clean energy and climate projects that were given out by the Biden administration.
Administrator Lee Zeldin stated in a video on X that the EPA would cancel contracts for a new “green bank” that will finance tens of thousands of initiatives to combat climate change and advance environmental justice.
Formally named as the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, the initiative was authorized by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act and is more popularly referred to as the “green bank.”
Two programs, valued at $14 billion and $6 billion, respectively, aim to provide competitive grants to community development banks, nonprofit organizations, and other organizations for projects that focus on disadvantaged communities.
Former EPA Administrator Michael Regan often touted the program as one of his greatest achievements, and Democrats favored it when they enacted President Joe Biden’s flagship climate measure without a single Republican vote.
The green bank has been referred to as a “slush fund” by Republicans in Congress, who have expressed concerns about its use and the lack of enough accountability and transparency.
Last year, a bill to dismantle the Green Bank and other aspects of Biden’s climate policy was approved by the Republican-controlled House. The Senate, which is controlled by Democrats, blocked the bill.
In the video that was uploaded on Wednesday night, Zeldin declared that under his leadership, there will be “zero tolerance of any waste and abuse” at the EPA.
Before President Donald Trump entered office, he highlighted “an extremely disturbing video” on X in which a former EPA employee claims that the Biden administration was “tossing gold bars off the Titanic” to squander billions of government dollars.
Zeldin declared, “The days of carelessly giving boatloads of money to far-left activist organizations in the name of climate equity and environmental justice are over.”
“My staff located your gold bars after I gave them instructions to do so. As we move forward, we will now bring them back under governmental authority.
Project Veritas, a right-wing group that frequently employs covert cameras to try to discredit news organizations, labor unions, and Democratic leaders, uploaded the video that Zeldin referenced.
Laptops 1000In this instance, the Veritas video showed former EPA special adviser for implementation Brent Efron talking to someone who turned out to be a member of the group at a restaurant or bar. Since then, Efron has left the EPA.
Proponents of clean energy criticized Zeldin’s move as a political ploy and claimed he was unlawfully trying to cancel congressionally approved spending for political reasons. They promised to file a legal challenge to the directive.
Lena Moffitt, executive director of Evergreen Action, an environmental organization that backs the Green Bank, stated, “This is not just an attack on clean energy investments—it’s a blatant violation of the Constitution.”
“The Trump administration is attempting to unlawfully cut programs that assist American families in order to finance tax breaks for billionaires.”
Eight nonprofit organizations, including the Justice Climate Fund, Inclusiv, Power Forward Communities, Opportunity Finance Network, Climate United Fund, and Coalition for Green Capital, have already received the funding.
These organizations have collaborated with many organizations, such as the Community Preservation Corporation, Habitat for Humanity, and Rewiring America.
At a Charlotte, North Carolina, event last year, former Vice President Kamala Harris made the announcement of the grant winners.
