A federal judge indicated during a hearing Thursday that she was leaning toward restoring canceled federal funding for hydrogen energy and other climate-related projects awarded to University of California researchers.
What happened: U.S. District Judge Rita Lin, of the Northern District of California, told attorneys for the University of California and the Trump administration that the university system’s motion for a preliminary injunction blocking Department of Energy funding cuts mirrored an earlier request to restore other lost research grants that she approved.
Lin in September ordered the administration to restore over $500 million in research funding to UC campuses, writing that the decision was “likely arbitrary and capricious” and in violation of federal law that dictates how federal agencies must operate.
She said Thursday that DOE’s October move to slash energy grants, including those through the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems program, followed the same pattern.
