A high-stakes legal fight over nearly $20 billion in federal clean energy grants, including funding tied to more than 100 credit unions, is heading back before the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit after judges agreed to rehear the case en banc.
On Dec. 17, the appeals court granted a request from Inclusiv and other Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) awardees to have all active judges review a September ruling that vacated an injunction blocking the Environmental Protection Agency from canceling the grants. Oral arguments are scheduled for Feb. 24, 2026. Until then, the disputed funds remain frozen at Citibank.
Inclusiv, which represents community development credit unions, received a $1.87 billion award in August 2024 under the Clean Communities Investment Accelerator (CCIA), a program mandated by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. The funding was designed to support clean energy lending in low-income and rural communities, in which Inclusiv made commitments to 108 credit unions and cooperativas in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, but has not been able to disburse the funds.
Within weeks of the Trump administration taking office, EPA officials froze the funds and moved to terminate the program, prompting a wave of lawsuits. Inclusiv filed suit in late March 2025, and the cases were later consolidated.
In April, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan issued a preliminary injunction halting the EPA’s actions. But on Sept. 2, a divided three-judge appellate panel ruled 2–1 that the district court lacked jurisdiction, concluding the dispute belonged in the Court of Federal Claims and vacating the injunction.
That decision drew a sharp dissent from Judge Cornelia Pillard, who argued the executive branch cannot claw back funds lawfully appropriated and spent by Congress. The en banc rehearing now gives the full court an opportunity to revisit that question, with significant implications for credit unions, federal climate finance and agency authority.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.