Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) to support long-overdue investments in public health, climate resilience, and critical infrastructure. These historic laws fund community-led projects that expand green spaces, reduce pollution, cut energy costs, and build climate-ready infrastructure across the country.
In early 2025, the Trump administration ordered a freeze on funds authorized under these laws through the “Unleashing American Energy” executive order. The directive, implemented by agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Departments of Agriculture, Energy, the Interior, and Housing and Urban Development, halted billions in investments, stopping projects already underway, threatening jobs, and putting health and environmental initiatives at risk.
On March 13, 2025, Democracy Forward, alongside co-counsel DeLuca, Weizenbaum, Barry & Revens, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island on behalf of Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, National Council of Nonprofits, Eastern Rhode Island Conservation District, and Green Infrastructure Center. The plaintiffs were later joined by the Childhood Lead Action Project and Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation.
The case challenges the Trump administration’s unlawful decision to suspend funding that Congress had already appropriated, arguing that the freeze violates the Administrative Procedure Act and exceeds executive authority. The complaint details how this freeze jeopardizes local economies, disrupts environmental restoration, and undermines legal commitments to community-based infrastructure projects.
Plaintiffs also filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to lift the freeze immediately, emphasizing the urgent harms to workforce development, public health, and neighborhood resilience resulting from the funding suspension.
On April 15, 2025, the court granted the preliminary injunction, ordering the Trump administration to release the frozen funds and allowing stalled projects to resume. The decision marks the largest court-ordered restoration of IRA and BIL funding to date and affirms the legal limits on executive power to override congressional intent.
This win protects community initiatives across the country—from urban forestry and clean water projects to job-creating public health interventions—and ensures that the funding Congress appropriates flows to the people and places it was intended to serve.
Case: Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council v. Trump Administration