U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy has ruled that the Trump administration unlawfully terminated the $7 billion Solar for All program, which was created under the Biden administration to bring solar power to over 900,000 low-income households. The court vacated the Environmental Protection Agency's termination, finding that the agency under Administrator Lee Zeldin exceeded its statutory authority. While the EPA is reviewing the decision for a potential appeal, environmental and labor groups celebrate the ruling as a major victory for clean energy and job creation.
Federal court ruling
- ▪U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy in Rhode Island ruled on September 18, 2026, that the Trump administration illegally terminated the $7 billion Solar for All program
- ▪U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy vacated the Environmental Protection Agency's termination of the Solar for All program and tossed out the agency's move to claw back the $7 billion in Solar for All program funding
EPA statutory authority
- ▪U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy stated that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law by President Trump in July 2025, did not convert Solar for All funding into a lump-sum amount subject to Environmental Protection Agency discretion
- ▪U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency acted contrary to congressional intent and without statutory authority when it terminated the $7 billion Solar for All program
- ▪The Environmental Protection Agency retained over $3 billion in funding for necessary expenses related to administering grant programs under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed into law by President Trump in July 2025
Solar for All program
- ▪The Environmental Protection Agency had awarded the Solar for All grants in 2024 to 60 nonprofit groups, tribes, and states before the Solar for All program was terminated
- ▪The Solar for All program, established under the Inflation Reduction Act signed by President Joe Biden, was designed to help more than 900,000 low- and moderate-income households install solar panels and reduce emissions
- ▪The $7 billion Solar for All program was established under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act signed by President Joe Biden to make solar power accessible to lower-income Americans
Trump climate policy rollback
- ▪The Trump administration's One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed in July 2025, rescinded unobligated balances in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund
- ▪A divided federal appeals court ruled in August 2026 that the Trump administration improperly terminated the $20 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund
- ▪Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin terminated the Solar for All program in August 2025, calling the Biden-era grant program a "boondoggle."
Debatable claims
- ▪The executive branch should be allowed to claw back obligated federal funds
- ▪The federal government should subsidize solar installations for low-income families
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