‘It’s Surreal’: Trump’s Freeze on Climate Money Sows Fear and Confusion
Some environmental nonprofits and researchers still don’t have access to their federal grants after the Trump administration ordered them halted on Jan. 27.
The Environmental Protection Agency headquarters in Washington, DC.
Photographer: Eric Lee/BloombergWhen President Donald Trump’s administration last week shut off the spigot of federal grant money, which a federal judge said is likely in violation of US law, it caused confusion and panic among groups and researchers that work on clean energy, climate change and environmental justice.
Nonprofits, small businesses and state and city agencies abruptly lost access to millions of dollars that were already under contract and being used. After the National Science Foundation (NSF) paused all its grants, researchers rushed to find out if their projects were affected, and some had their salaries frozen.