Despite the government shutdown, the Department of Housing and Urban Development must abide by a court order requiring disbursement of climate grants it had sought to freeze, a federal judge has ruled.
In a brief order issued Tuesday, Judge Mary McElroy of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island sided with nonprofits that accused the agency of dragging its feet on compliance with an April order to release the money and then halting its efforts because of the congressional budget impasse.
McElroy said despite the lapse in government spending, federal law permits legally authorized work. She said her prior decisions “both require and ‘authorize by law’ HUD to carry out activities necessary to comply with those orders,” including resuming processing and payment of Green and Resilient Retrofit Program grants.
The Trump appointee ordered the Department of Justice to confirm in a status report to the court that HUD officials have been told to resume paying the grants and to “describe with specificity” what additional steps the government has taken to comply.
