An appeals court has overturned a federal judge’s ruling blocking the Environmental Protection Agency from terminating $20 billion in grants for several climate groups. 

A three-judge U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Tuesday issued a 2-1 ruling in favor of the Trump EPA’s efforts to slash billions of dollars in grant money to green groups obligated during former President Joe Biden‘s administration. The District of Columbia Circuit Court judges were Gregory Katsas, Neomi Rao, and Cornelia Pillard, who dissented.

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The district court “abused its discretion” by issuing the injunction preventing the EPA from rescinding the funds, the judges wrote. They said the plaintiffs were not likely to succeed in their case because it belonged in the Court of Federal Claims, rather than the district court.

“Moreover, the equities strongly favor the government, which on behalf of the public must ensure the proper oversight and management of this multibillion-dollar fund,” they wrote.

In April, the D.C. Circuit court placed a hold on U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan’s ruling that allowed climate groups access to grant money held in Citibank. The appellate court’s decision is the latest twist in the legal battle between the EPA and three climate groups: Climate United, Coalition for Green Capital, and Power Forward Communities.

For months, the EPA has sought to terminate the grantees’ grant money from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which was established as part of the Biden administration’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. The attempt to cut the funding is part of the agency’s efforts to deregulate and cut funding to programs that no longer align with the Trump administration, which is focused on boosting fossil fuel production.

Climate United CEO Beth Bafford said in a statement: “While we are disappointed by the panel’s decision, we stand firm on the merits of our case: EPA unlawfully froze and terminated funds that were legally obligated and disbursed.”

“This is another hurdle in our fight to lower energy costs for those who need it most while creating jobs for hardworking Americans, but we will continue to press on for communities across the country that stand to benefit from clean, abundant, and affordable energy. This is not the end of our road,” she added.

APPEALS COURT HALTS ORDER TO EPA TO DISBURSE ‘GOLD BAR’ GREEN FUNDS

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has claimed the grant money was improperly distributed by being routed through Citibank. The EPA froze the funds for eight weeks and attempted to cancel $20 billion in grants from eight nonprofit organizations in the program.

The fund was given $27 billion to help climate projects across the United States, specifically in low-income communities. The three nonprofit groups suing the EPA were granted $14 billion under the program’s National Clean Investment Fund. 

Zeldin has called the funds “gold bars,” referring to a video last year in which a former EPA employee said the Biden administration was trying to disburse promised funds quickly before the next administration. 

“It truly feels like we’re on the Titanic, and we’re throwing, like, gold bars off the edge,” the former employee says in the video.