The head of the criminal division in the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, D.C., Denise Cheung, resigned on Tuesday after Trump appointees requested an investigation into an Environmental Protection Agency funding decision during the Biden administration. 

Multiple people familiar with the matter said Cheung had refused to open a grand jury investigation into the EPA’s climate spending during the last administration, CNN reported. The source said that Cheung declined the order because it lacked sufficient evidence and to protect lower-level prosecutors from the work. 

The order originated from Emil Bove, the department’s acting deputy attorney general to interim U.S. Attorney Ed Martin, CNN reported. The order comes after President Donald Trump nominated Martin to become the permanent U.S. attorney for D.C.

The Trump administration has criticized former President Joe Biden’s spending on climate programs, including legislation like the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which provided hundreds of billions of dollars in funding for clean energy projects. The administration is also reviewing various climate-related grants and programs to see whether they align with the Trump agenda. 

EPA Administration Lee Zeldin announced last week that the agency would seek to cut around $20 billion in grant funding for climate projects under the IRA. Zeldin claims the funds were “parked” at financial institutes and later went to left-wing activist groups without oversight. He referred to the funds multiple times as “gold bars,” referencing an undercover video in which an EPA employee compared the funding to gold bars being thrown off the Titanic.

Zeldin said the agency will review “every penny” and will work alongside the inspector general’s office and Justice Department.

Cheung has worked in the office since 2000. She notified colleagues Tuesday morning about her resignation but did not specify the reason she decided to step down. 

“When I started as an AUSA, I took an oath of office to support and defend the Constitution, and I have executed this duty faithfully during my tenure, which has spanned through numerous Administrations,” Cheung wrote in the email. “I know that all of the AUSAs in the office continue to honor their oaths on a daily basis, just as I know that you have always conducted yourself with the utmost integrity.”