N.J. joins suit against White House over canceled energy grants

New Jersey and a dozen other states are suing the Trump administration over the alleged illegal cancellation of billions in energy projects. 

On the first day of his second term, President Donald Trump launched an expansive plan to maximize oil and gas production and pull back from environmental protections. It’s under that plan, the states argue, that the White House began establishing a “kill list” for Department of Energy-funded renewable energy programs across the country.

The states said the DOE released a memo last May that created a “nebulous and opaque” review process for federally funded projects. Then, on the first day of last fall’s federal government shutdown, the White House eliminated nearly $8 billion in congressionally approved energy projects across 16 states — about $5 million in New Jersey — a move the states say was meant as a cudgel.

“The DOE Memo was a pretext,” the lawsuit argues. “Its true purpose was to give the Administration thin bureaucratic cover to eliminate congressionally established energy and infrastructure programs and rescind their funding, for no other reason than a fundamental disagreement with the programs’ policy underpinnings.”

The states say the president violated the Constitution by unlawfully cancelling congressionally appropriated funding. The Department of Justice did not immediately return a request for comment.

The Attorney General’s Office said the cuts affect two grants in New Jersey. The first, a $3.2 million grant issued to Rutgers University and the Board of Public Utilities, would have established a new energy-efficient building standard. The lawsuit claims the program, if it goes forward, would save property owners and tenants between $3.8 billion and $15.4 billion over five years.

The second grant, a $1.7 million grant for research on agrivoltaic systems, would help the state’s farmers simultaneously use their land for energy production.

Acting Attorney General Jennifer Davenport joined the suit, which is led by California. The states filed the lawsuit in federal district court in California.

Gov. Mikie Sherrill said the project terminations will worsen energy costs for New Jerseyans.

“Creating more in-state power will lower utility costs, benefiting both families and businesses, and improve affordability for all,” Sherrill said in a release. “But President Trump is determined to make life more expensive by refusing to follow the law, and New Jersey will not stand for it.”

New Jersey is in court over a similar program funding cut stemming from last fall: the Trump administration also froze funding for the monumental Gateway tunnel project between New Jersey and Manhattan. Construction in that project is set to resume next week, officials say, after a court temporarily reopened the spigot as the funding freeze undergoes a legal challenge. 

“This is not the first time the Trump administration has played political games, and I’m glad that we are once again taking him to court under Acting Attorney General Davenport to defend New Jersey against his unlawful behavior,” Sherrill said.