State attorneys general sue Trump administration for canceled solar
program funding
[October 17, 2025]
By ALEXA ST. JOHN and JENNIFER McDERMOTT
The attorneys general of more than a dozen states on Thursday sued the
Trump administration over the termination of $7 billion in funding
intended for affordable solar energy projects across the U.S.
The coalition, which also included the District of Columbia and other
stakeholders, argued in the lawsuit that the Environmental Protection
Agency's cancellation of the Solar for All program violated the law
governing federal agencies and the constitutional separation of powers.
The program was introduced in 2022 as part of former President Joe
Biden’s landmark climate law, intended to make the renewable energy
accessible to nearly 1 million Americans.
Increasing the use of solar energy reduces reliance on coal, oil and
natural gas. Burning these fossil fuels for electricity is a primary
driver of climate change globally because they emit greenhouse gases
that trap the Earth’s heat.
The EPA rescinded the Solar for All funds in August after President
Donald Trump's massive tax and spending law passed in Congress a month
earlier, with Administrator Lee Zeldin calling the program a
“boondoggle.”
The EPA said in an email Thursday that it does not comment on pending
litigation.
Thursday’s filing in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of
Washington was led by Washington Attorney General Nick Brown, Minnesota
Attorney General Keith Ellison and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes,
and argues the termination of the funding was unlawful. It names the EPA
and Zeldin as defendants.
Joining the lawsuit are the attorneys general in California, Colorado,
Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts,
Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North
Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont, all of whom are Democrats,
as well as the governor of Kentucky, the chair of the Pennsylvania
Energy Development Authority, and the Wisconsin Economic Development
Corporation.
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Brayan Santos, left, and Theodore Tanczuk, right, of solar
installer YellowLite, put solar panels on the roof of a home in
Lakewood, Ohio, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
“Congress passed a solar energy program to help make electricity
costs more affordable, but the administration is ignoring the law
and focused on the conspiracy theory that climate change is a hoax,”
Brown said in a statement.
Advocates have touted the program not only for its benefits to
lower-income communities needing access to money for clean-energy
projects, but also for local workforces and to keep electricity
prices reasonable.
“At a time when energy bills are at a record high and only
continuing to skyrocket, the Trump Administration is needlessly
hampering an industry that can produce safe, reliable, and
inexpensive energy,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a
statement.
A similar group of states filed a separate lawsuit Wednesday in the
Court of Federal Claims against the Trump administration arguing
that the program funding cancellation is a breach of contract and
said they are seeking to recover monetary damages.
This week’s litigation ramps up the pressure on the Trump
administration over the program. Nonprofit organizations and other
groups sued over Solar for All funding for similar reasoning earlier
this month, and Harris County in Texas filed a lawsuit last week
over its award. More than two dozen Democratic senators also wrote a
letter to Zeldin this week calling for the program to be restored.
Solar for All was affiliated with another $20 billion in green
funding, formally known as the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund,
terminated by the Trump administration in March.
The canceled $27 billion is just one example of the efforts the
administration has taken against clean energy. Trump has invested in
fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas and coal while slashing
climate regulation, standing in the way of clean energy developments
and reversing environmental policy.
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