PA Governor: Trump Admin Releases Blocked Grants and Loans

HARRISBURG, Pa. — On Monday, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro announced that the Trump administration had released billions of dollars in federal aid, which he previously argued was unjustly and unlawfully withheld. Shapiro revealed in a news conference that over $2 billion, previously identified as stalled or under an undefined review, is now available to state agencies.

Shapiro initiated a lawsuit in federal court on February 13, challenging the aid freeze after several federal courts criticized the Trump administration’s widespread hold on funding and questioned its adherence to court orders. While attending various meetings in Washington, D.C., over the weekend, Shapiro discussed his allegations with top officials from the Trump administration.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Philadelphia, which represents the federal bodies named in the lawsuit, did not provide comments on Monday. Meanwhile, lawyers representing the Trump administration argued in a federal court in Rhode Island that the decision to halt funds was legitimate, requesting the rejection of a preliminary injunction sought by nearly two dozen Democratic states.

The administration characterized the stoppage as a “pause” to assess the optimal use of federal funds, suggesting the case was irrelevant since the Office of Management and Budget in late January revoked its memo suspending federal grants and loans. Much of the halted grant funding, identified by Shapiro’s team, originates from key laws signed by former President Joe Biden, including the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act and the 2021 infrastructure bill.

The lawsuit alleged the withholding of aid from initiatives aimed at upgrading home energy efficiency, addressing abandoned gas wells, cleaning mine lands, improving municipal water and sewer facilities, and compensating industries for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Five federal bodies were implicated: the White House Office of Management and Budget, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Departments of Interior and Transportation.

None of these departments have responded to the lawsuit, except the Department of Energy, which claimed compliance with the court orders. However, it did not clarify whether it had released funds that Shapiro’s administration accused it of withholding.