Trump administration halts $1.7 billion in EPA grants for pollution-hit communities

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has canceled over 400 environmental justice grants aimed at low-income and minority neighborhoods, drawing sharp criticism from Senate Democrats.

Michael Phillis, Alexa St. John and Matthew Daly report for The Associated Press.

In short:

• EPA administrator Lee Zeldin ended more than $1.7 billion in grants that were intended to reduce pollution and improve environmental conditions in marginalized communities.
• Senate Democrats argue the cancellations violate congressional mandates, court orders, and contract law, and have demanded documentation and an explanation.
• Projects affected include programs targeting lead poisoning, air quality, and PFAS contamination in communities from Detroit to West Virginia.

Key quote:

“The illegal termination of these EPA grants not only violates congressional appropriations law, contractual agreements, and multiple court orders, but it also undermines essential programs aimed at eliminating childhood lead poisoning, reducing toxic air pollution, and mitigating health risks from heat and wildfires.”

— Sheldon Whitehouse, top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee

Why this matters:

Environmental justice grants, long seen as a vital tool to address deep-rooted inequities, are once again at the center of political friction. These federal funds support local projects in communities that have borne the brunt of pollution — often neighborhoods of color situated near highways, petrochemical plants, or waste facilities — offering resources for cleaner air, safer water, and climate resilience.

As the Trump administration moves to scale back this funding, advocates warn that decades of environmental neglect are at risk of compounding. Public health experts point to the potential erosion of hard-won gains in places already facing higher rates of asthma, heart disease, and heat-related illness. Critics argue the rollback not only ignores legal mandates under civil rights and environmental laws but also signals a retreat from the federal government’s role in protecting its most at-risk citizens.

Related: EPA dismantles decades of work on environmental justice