On March 13, 2025, the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, National Council of Nonprofits, Eastern Rhode Island Conservation District, and Green Infrastructure Center filed a lawsuit1 challenging a January 20, 2025 executive order titled Unleashing American Energy. This ordered federal agencies to “pause the disbursement of funds appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) or the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).”2
Among its many provisions, the IRA invested millions of dollars into clean energy production, providing tax credits for households and businesses to offset the cost of energy, and offering tax credits to reduce carbon emissions.3
The IIJA, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, was passed in 2021 to improve broadband access, invest in transportation and water infrastructure, and support power grid reliability and clean energy technologies.4
The Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council and their co-counsel allege that when President Trump issued the executive order, federal agencies “halted activities related to the payment of (IRA and IIJA) funds, such as maintaining access to online portals through which grantees can draw on open awards – en masse and on a non-individualized basis.”5
In the lawsuit, plaintiffs argue that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has “limited statutory authority” to ask executive agencies to “undertake a blanket freeze of even a subset of funding appropriated by the IRA and IIJA.” The plaintiffs also argue that by withholding funds from the IRA and IIJA, the defendants are not following the rules and regulations of the Administrative Procedure Act, a law that prohibits agencies from enacting actions “found to be in excess of statutory jurisdiction, authority, or limitation” and/or “found to be arbitrary (or) capricious.”
Subsequently, the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, National Council of Nonprofits, Eastern Rhode Island Conservation District, and Green Infrastructure Center filed a request for preliminary injunction.6 A hearing on the injunction is set for April 3, 2025.
The team at Forvis Mazars will continue to monitor legislative updates related to this executive order. For more information or questions, please reach out to a professional at Forvis Mazars.
- 1Link to PDF – Initial Complaint
- 2Link to PDF – Initial Complaint
- 3H.R.5376 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 | Congress.gov | Library of Congress
- 4H.R.3684 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act | Congress.gov | Library of Congress
- 5Link to PDF – Initial Complaint
- 6Link to PDF – Initial Complaint