Montgomery, AL – Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has joined a coalition of states supporting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s effort to shut down a Biden-era climate grant program, arguing it was rushed, unlawfully structured, and lacked proper oversight.
The coalition filed a multistate amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, urging the court to vacate a lower court injunction that currently blocks EPA from rescinding grants issued under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. The brief is led by West Virginia and joined by attorneys general from 23 states, including Alabama.
At issue is nearly $20 billion in federal funding distributed under the program. According to the states’ filing, the Biden administration awarded the funds to just eight nonprofit entities, several of which reportedly had limited financial track records. The brief contends the program relied on a novel funding structure that reduced EPA’s ability to monitor or intervene in how taxpayer dollars were spent.
The states argue that internal admissions from federal officials show the grants were rushed out before a transition to a new administration, with grant agreements rewritten after the 2024 election to further restrict EPA oversight. The filing describes the program as an “insurance policy” designed to lock in funding before political control changed.
Attorney General Marshall criticized the program’s design and implementation, saying, “When federal officials admit they were throwing taxpayer money overboard like ‘gold bars off the Titanic,’ that’s not climate policy, it’s reckless mismanagement. Forcing EPA to keep paying out these grants would mean ordering the agency to violate federal law and the Constitution. That’s not how government is supposed to work, and it’s not something the courts should endorse. EPA has a duty to stop a scheme designed to evade oversight and lock in billions before voters could hold anyone accountable.”
The brief argues the grants violate the Inflation Reduction Act’s requirement that funds be awarded through a competitive process and fail to meet the Constitution’s requirement that federal spending serve the general welfare. The states also claim the program disproportionately harms energy-producing states, including Alabama, by diverting taxpayer funds toward projects they describe as ideologically driven, potentially undermining local economies and reliable energy production.
The coalition is asking the appeals court to allow EPA to proceed with rescinding and reassessing the grants, saying the move is necessary to ensure federal funds are spent lawfully, transparently, and in line with congressional intent.
In addition to Alabama and West Virginia, the coalition includes attorneys general from Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.
