Judge ‘abused its discretion’ by ordering Trump to fund environmental groups, appeals court says

A federal appeals court allowed the Trump administration to freeze grants to more than 30 environmental groups on Wednesday, after finding that a lower court overstepped its authority by ruling the administration had to pay out the grants.

The lawsuit is one of several across the country challenging the president’s mass cancellations of environmental grants during his first year back in the White House. A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled unanimously that the claims should be brought to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, rather than a district court, and that the district court judge should never have blocked the Trump administration from canceling the funding.

“We conclude that the district court lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate Plaintiffs’

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