HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro announced on Monday that the former Trump administration has released billions of dollars in federal aid, money that Shapiro previously accused the administration of unlawfully holding back. During a news conference, Shapiro stated that more than $2 billion, initially identified by his administration as frozen or under an undisclosed review, is now available for state agencies.
The funds release follows Shapiro’s federal lawsuit filed on February 13, as federal courts rejected the sweeping halt on federal funding by the Trump administration and questioned its noncompliance with court directives. Shapiro mentioned that he also advocated for his case through discussions with senior officials of the Trump administration while in Washington, D.C., during the weekend. The U.S. attorney’s office in Philadelphia, representing the federal entities sued, did not provide immediate comments on Monday.
Meanwhile, in federal court in Rhode Island, Trump administration attorneys defended the legality of the fund freeze, urging a judge to refuse a preliminary injunction sought by nearly two dozen Democratic states. They described the freeze as a “pause” meant to reassess the utilization of federal funds, claiming the dispute was moot since the Office of Management and Budget withdrew its memo that suspended federal grants and loans in late January.
Most of the delayed funding identified by Shapiro’s administration was linked to programs funded by significant legislation passed under former President Joe Biden. These include the 2022 climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the 2021 infrastructure law. The lawsuit alleged that the aid was blocked from initiatives aimed at enhancing energy efficiency in homes, sealing abandoned gas wells, reclaiming abandoned mine lands, upgrading municipal water and sewer infrastructures, and compensating industries for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The lawsuit named five federal agencies as defendants: the White House Office of Management and Budget, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Interior, and the Department of Transportation. While none offered comments regarding the lawsuit, the Department of Energy acknowledged it was adhering to the court mandates, but did not clarify if it had released the funds questioned by Shapiro’s administration.
