The Trump administration illegally withheld more than $9 million for climate resilience projects in Washington state, violating the Administrative Procedure Act and the U.S. Constitution, the state’s attorney general alleges in a new lawsuit against the Trump administration.
In a complaint filed last week in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, Attorney General Nick Brown (D) said the withholding of funds to a “tribal stewards” program run by the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges directly affects Native American students seeking careers in fields that can help gird vulnerable communities to climate change impacts.
“Climate change is here, and Washington communities need to prepare and build resilience,” Brown said in a press release. “The federal government promised funding to help local communities adapt, and we’re holding them to it.”
Washington state is one of dozens of states that have seen federal funds withheld or withdrawn by the Trump administration under President Donald Trump’s dismantling of federal climate programs, including efforts to help vulnerable communities prepare for and defend against extreme weather events associated with climate warming.
