Pennsylvania governor sues over Trump administration spending freezes on grants and loans
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Thursday sued agencies under President Donald Trump, saying they are illegally and unconstitutionally withholding billions in federal aid from the state that already had been approved by Congress.
Shapiro, a Democrat, filed the lawsuit despite the fact that federal courts repeatedly have rejected the Trump administration's sweeping pause on federal funding, and Shapiro's lawyers suggest the Trump administration is continuing to ignore court orders to restore access to the suspended money.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Philadelphia, calls actions by the federal agencies “flagrantly lawless” and says the agencies have no legal authority to unilaterally refuse to spend money appropriated by Congress over a policy disagreement.
Further, the agencies have provided no plausible explanation for the suspension, Shapiro's lawyers said.
Shapiro, his agencies and members of Congress have tried to try to fully restore access to the money, the lawsuit said.
“Despite that work, and despite two temporary restraining orders requiring federal agencies to restore access to suspended funds, federal agencies continue to deny Pennsylvania agencies funding that they are entitled to receive,” the lawsuit said.
The federal agencies named as defendants — the White House Office of Management and Budget, the Environmental Protection Agency and the departments of Energy, Interior and Transportation — did not immediately comment on the lawsuit. The Department of Interior said its policy is not to comment on pending litigation.
The Trump administration issued a memo in late January freezing federal grants and loans. Administration officials said the pause was necessary to review whether spending aligned with Trump’s executive orders on issues such as climate change and diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
The freeze caused widespread chaos.
The Trump administration rescinded the memo less than two days later, but money for things such as early childhood education, pollution reduction and HIV prevention research remained tied up, nearly two dozen Democratic states said in a federal lawsuit.
On Monday, a judge ordered the administration to “immediately take every step necessary” to unfreeze all federal grants and loans, finding the Trump administration hadn't fully followed his earlier order. The Trump administration quickly appealed the ruling and lost Tuesday.
In Pennsylvania’s case, the Shapiro administration said about $2.5 billion in grants or reimbursements committed to Pennsylvania is now suspended or under some sort of review that hasn’t been approved by Congress or any funding agreement, and hasn’t been explained to Shapiro’s administration.
In the text of the lawsuit, the plaintiffs name some of the key state programs that would be put at risk by the lack of federal funding. These include the plugging of abandoned oil and gas wells, the repair of former ore and mineral mining sites, and grant programs allowing lower-income residents to save money on utility costs.
Gas well plugging is especially important in Butler County, which is home to numerous small towns and villages such as Portersville that once were booming oil towns in the 19th and early 20th century.
According to DEP press secretary Neil Shader, the DEP has plugged a total of 66 wells in Butler County, including 25 that were plugged with funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
One well-plugging, at a farm in Concord Township in March 2024, marked the 200th oil well plugged during the Shapiro administration in just 14 months. That was part of a stretch of 25 wells plugged in Concord Township alone between October 2023 and October 2024.
“Well plugging costs can run up to $100,000 depending on the condition and location of the well,” Shader said. “These wells can leak methane and pollute groundwater if they are not properly plugged.”
According to a chart provided by the DEP, nearly $1.3 billion in federal funding for the department is frozen, and over $727 million is listed as “restricted.”
Shapiro’s lawyers said the Trump administration cannot legally add new conditions to federal aid after a state has already accepted it, and federal aid cannot be shut off unless it is for a reason specifically laid out by the law or a funding agreement between a state and federal agency. That violates the spending clause of the U.S. Constitution, Shapiro's lawsuit said.
Butler Eagle reporter William Pitts contributed to this report.
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