Attorney General Sues Trump Administration for Illegally Terminating Funding for Energy and Infrastructure Programs

Press Releases

02/18/2026

Attorney General Sues Trump Administration for Illegally Terminating Funding for Energy and Infrastructure Programs

(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong today joined a coalition of 13 attorneys general suing the Trump Administration to block its unlawful decision to terminate energy and infrastructure programs created by Congress in laws such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, challenges the decisions by the United States Department of Energy (DOE), DOE Secretary Chris Wright, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and OMB Director Russell Vought, to terminate billions of dollars in energy and infrastructure awards nationwide.

“This is yet another erratic and illegal move by Trump to ensure Big Oil keeps raking in top profits while the rest of us suffer. Congress voted to fund these programs to create jobs, save us money on our utility bills, and end our reliance on dirty fossil fuels. We’re suing to force Trump to understand laws and Congress are not optional,” said Attorney General Tong.

On January 20th, 2025, his first day in office, President Trump issued executive orders, declaring a bogus “national energy emergency” and “Terminating the Green New Deal.” Pursuant to this directive, the DOE compiled a “hit list” of energy and infrastructure awards worth billions of dollars. The list was intended to further the administration’s illegal objective of eliminating energy and infrastructure programs created under Congress’s authority in laws such as the 2021 IIJA and the 2022 IRA. In May, DOE issued a policy memorandum asserting that it would subject projects to which it had previously awarded funding to a vague and opaque “review” process that was in truth designed to provide cover to eliminate energy and infrastructure programs. As a government shutdown loomed in late September of 2025, the President told reporters he could “do things during the shutdown that are irreversible” to attack Democrats, including “cutting programs that they like.” The next day, Russell Vought, the Director of OMB, posted on X that DOE would be terminating nearly $8 billion in “Green New Scam” funding to fuel ‘the Left’s climate agenda.’” The post listed sixteen States where projects would be defunded, all Democratically-leaning. DOE announced the cuts the next day, citing their May 2025 policy memorandum. Meanwhile, throughout the first year of the Trump presidency, DOE has quietly abandoned projects, including those contained in various “kill lists.” All were funded as elements of high-profile energy and infrastructure legislation, including bipartisan legislation, passed during the previous presidential administration.

The complaint filed today alleges that the Trump Administration’s decision to eliminate energy programs created by Congress is unlawful because it violates the separation of powers and the Administrative Procedure Act. The programs were created by statute, and federal agencies have a duty to faithfully execute those statutes. California and the coalition ask the court to declare that the Trump Administration’s actions are unlawful and to permanently stop the Administration from interfering with these programs.

In filing this complaint, Attorney General Bonta co-leads with Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and Washington Attorney General Nicholas Brown. Joining them are the attorneys general of Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.

Twitter: @AGWilliamTong

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Media Contact:

Elizabeth Benton
elizabeth.benton@ct.gov

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