State financial institutions have filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Citibank for illegally withholding obligated funds. Plaintiffs, who are sub-grantees of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), have been unable to draw funds from EPA-controlled accounts at Citibank. Plaintiffs argue that the Trump administration, in refusing to release the funds, violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), the separation of powers, the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution, and the Tenth Amendment. Plaintiffs also bring contract and tort claims against Citibank.
On March 25, Judge Chutkan ordered that this case be consolidated with Climate United Fund v. Citibank (1:25-cv-00698); Coalition for Green Capital v. Citibank, N.A. (1:25-cv-00735); and Power Forward Communities, Inc. v. Citibank (1:25-cv-00762). Climate United Fund was named the lead case and all further filings were directed to be filed there.
