Appeals court reverses federal judge order to release EPA funds in a victory for Trump admin

A federal appeals court late Wednesday night halted U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan's order that blocked the Environmental Protection Agency from withdrawing billions in climate funds. 

Chutkan earlier this week ordered the EPA to release the money that was designated to eight climate finance organizations during the Biden administration as part of Congress's historic Inflation Reduction Act. 

The judge's order was expected to go into effect on Thursday, but a panel of appeals judges halted the order in order to allow more time to weigh the case and keep the status quo, per The Hill.

“The purpose of this order is to give the court sufficient opportunity to consider the district court’s forthcoming opinion in support of its order granting a preliminary injunction together with the emergency motion for stay pending appeal and any response thereto, and should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits of that motion,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit wrote in the unsigned order. 

The EPA has not commented on the latest development so far.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.