November 18, 2025
Washington, D.C. – Shortly after filing a lawsuit challenging the unconstitutional cancellation of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants for clean energy projects, a coalition including a Midwestern city and energy and environmental organizations is asking the court for a preliminary injunction, which would the would block the awful elimination of those grants while the court hears the case.
The City of St. Paul Minnesota, Elevate Energy, Interstate Renewable Energy Council, Plug In America, the Southeast Community Organization, and Environmental Defense Fund – all of whom filed the lawsuit after they lost grants, or partnered with groups that lost grants, because the administration targeted the states in which they were located – asked the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for a preliminary injunction on Friday.
“The question at the heart of this case is whether the federal government can wield its enormous power to take adverse actions against private and public entities as a means of punishing disfavored political viewpoints. The answer is a resounding no,” the groups say in their filing. “[The administration’s] constitutional violations warrant immediate relief.”
The coalition’s lawsuit challenges the cancellation of Congressionally approved Department of Energy grants – for reasons the administration clearly and publicly stated were to punish certain states. On October 1st, U.S. Office of Management and Budget Director Russel Vought listed 16 states where cancellations would occur. The next day, more details emerged showing $7.5 billion in cancelled grants and awards from 321 projects – every single one of which was to a grantee in a state that voted for the Democratic candidate in the 2024 election, and all of which have Senators who caucus with the Democratic party. The projects that were cancelled were designed to expand clean, affordable energy solutions in communities across the country that would save Americans money and reduce pollution.
The groups’ lawsuit argues that the administration’s action violates two bedrock Constitutional rights – the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment, under which Americans are entitled to equal protection under the law, and the First Amendment, which prohibits government officials from wielding their power selectively to punish or suppress speech.
The lawsuit, and now the request for a preliminary injunction, also detail how the administration’s damaging cancellations will result in substantial harms:
“Because of the terminations, [coalition groups] have had to immediately cease their projects funded by the awards, lay off employees working on those projects, and notify partners that they may not be able to live up to obligations they made in reliance on the federal funding they had been promised. And unless the awards are restored imminently, Plaintiffs will need to shut down these projects permanently, wasting significant time and resources that have gone into the projects and forgoing their vital economic, health, and environmental benefits,” the groups say in their request for a preliminary injunction. “[The administration] had no legitimate interest in treating [coalition groups] and the other entities associated with the terminated awards differently from those affiliated with the awards that were not terminated. Animus against citizens holding particular political views is not a legitimate basis for official government action.”
About Plug In America
Plug In America is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the use of plug-in electric vehicles in the United States through education, advocacy and research. Formed in 2008, Plug In America provides practical, objective information to consumers and dealerships about EVs through various programs, including National Drive Electric Month, Drive Electric Earth Month, PlugStar.com, and other public outreach events. Learn more at PlugInAmerica.org.
Media contact: Lindsey Perkins
