Filed Date: Feb. 13, 2025
Case Ongoing
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This case is one of several challenging the second Trump administration's authority to suspend congressionally-appropriated federal financial assistance pending a review to ensure that the spending accords with administration priorities. (To see the Clearinghouse's collection of legal challenges to spending freezes and cuts by the second Trump administration, click here.)
On the day of President Trump's inauguration, January 20, 2025, he signed several Executive Orders (including EOs 14151, 14154, 14168, and 14173) directing federal agencies to immediately pause the disbursement of federal funds appropriated by Congress. As a result, organizations and states (including Pennsylvania) that were promised these funds became unable to access them.
On February 13, 2025, the Governor of Pennsylvania and several Pennsylvania state departments—the Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Department of Transportation, and Department of Community and Economic Development—filed this lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. They brought this lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Office of Management and Budget, and the acting heads of each federal department. Plaintiffs alleged that the Trump Administration directed federal agencies to immediately pause the disbursement of funds appropriated by Congress, some of which had been obligated to Plaintiffs. Further, despite two subsequent temporary restraining orders requiring federal agencies to restore access to the funds, they did not. Plaintiffs argued that the administration's directives and their implementation by Defendants were based on policy disagreements with Congress's appropriations, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act and the Take Care and Spending Clauses. They sought declaratory judgments, injunctive relief, and attorneys' fees.
Less than two weeks after filing this lawsuit, on February 24, Pennsylvania Governor Shapiro announced that all $2.1 billion in Congressionally-appropriated federal funding owed to the state (identified at the time of filing the lawsuit) had been unfrozen.
On April 15, 2025, the government requested additional time to file their answer to the complaint. The court gave them until June 16, 2025.
On June 12, 2025, the government again requested additional time to file their answer, and the court ordered them to respond on or before August 15, 2025.
The case is ongoing.
Summary Authors
Lacie Melasi (2/22/2025)
Victoria Tan (6/19/2025)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69636221/parties/shapiro-v-us-department-of-the-interior/
Goldberg, Mitchell S. (Pennsylvania)
BOYER, JACOB B. (Pennsylvania)
FISCHER, MICHAEL J. (Pennsylvania)
KOVATIS, STEPHEN R. (Pennsylvania)
BERKEN, GREGORY BYRON (Pennsylvania)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69636221/shapiro-v-us-department-of-the-interior/
Last updated July 9, 2025, 4:14 p.m.