Overview
- Filed on Feb. 18 in the Northern District of California, the suit is co-led by attorneys general from California, Colorado and Washington and names DOE, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, OMB and Director Russell Vought as defendants.
- The complaint targets about $2.7 billion in terminated awards, including $1.2 billion for California’s ARCHES hydrogen hub and $4 million for the state’s Resilient and Efficient Codes Implementation program.
- Plaintiffs allege violations of the Constitution’s separation of powers and the Administrative Procedure Act and seek declaratory and injunctive relief to reinstate the grants.
- States say cuts disproportionately hit Democratic-leaning states, citing Vought’s post on X announcing the end of “nearly $8 billion” in “Green New Scam” funding, while DOE has said some projects did not meet program goals.
- Officials highlight project impacts such as ARCHES staff layoffs and warn of broader harms, including more than 200,000 union jobs at risk in California and the loss of nearly $3 billion in projected annual health cost savings; early court rulings are still pending.