Editor's note: This story has been updated since its original publication to include a comment from the White House.
(The Center Square) – Democratic attorneys general from 13 states on Wednesday sued the U.S. Department of Energy over its decision to terminate $2.7 billion in federal money for energy and infrastructure programs.
The suit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for Northern California, says the programs were mandated by bipartisan majorities in Congress and that the Trump administration violated the Constitution’s separation of powers, which gives Congress the power of the purse.
The lawsuit is being co-led by attorneys general from California, Colorado and Washington state. Other plaintiffs are attorneys general from Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin. Besides the U.S. Department of Energy, defendants include Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, the Office of Management and Budget, and OMB Director Russell Vought.
In California, $1.2 billion in federal funding for the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems and $4 million under the Resilient and Efficient Codes Implementation program were terminated.
“The president doesn’t just get to cancel them because he disagrees with them,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta told reporters during a virtual news conference Wednesday afternoon with Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser.
The Democratic attorneys general's lawsuit refers to Republican President Donald trump's executive order, called "Unleashing American Energy" and issued on Inauguration Day - Jan. 20, 2025.
Trump's order says "burdensome and ideologically motivated regulations" have impeded development of energy and natural resources and caused higher costs for energy, transportation, heating, utilities, farming and manufacturing. The order calls on all agencies to pause the distribution of funds appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 or the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The latter is also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The suit accuses the Trump administration, including the Department of Energy and the Office of Management and Budget, of eliminating programs created under the two laws. The lawsuit said the Department of Energy followed up with a list in March of DOE-funded energy and infrastructure projects it would end and expanded that list in October.
"In our constitutional system, only Congress has the power to appropriate funding, and to define if and how federal programs are administered," the lawsuit says.
After the suit was filed, The Center Square reached out to the White House for comment.
“The Trump Administration is confident that we will defeat this frivolous lawsuit," White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said late Wednesday afternoon, answering The Center Square's questions by email. "Left-wing politicians in Blue states are still doubling down on Joe Biden’s failed and costly Green New Scam policies, which have driven up energy prices, hurting families and businesses.
"Meanwhile, President Trump has canceled unpopular green energy subsidies that wasted Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars and is unleashing American energy," Rogers said. "The American people want reliable and affordable energy, but Democrats refuse to abandon their failed approach and embrace the President’s energy dominance agenda.”
But Weiser, the Colorado attorney general, accused the Trump administration of creating its own scam by blocking money Congress allocated for states.
“Federal funding can’t be terminated to punish states or score political points,” Bonta said. The California attorney general added the termination of federal money threatens more than 200,000 union jobs in the state and contributes to higher energy prices.
“California believes in innovation and clean energy,” Bonta said. “We won’t stand by while lawful funding is stripped away.”
Weiser accused the Trump administration of canceling the same grants in blue states that it is allowing for red states.
“We don’t live in the Blue States of America or the Red States of America. We live in the United States of America,” Weiser said.
The Center Square Wednesday asked Weiser and Bonta several questions about their current and previous lawsuits against the Trump administration. Weiser replied by accusing the Trump administration of making arbitrary and capricious decisions that violate the federal Administrative Procedure Act. He said the federal government didn't give a reason for blocking funding such as approximately $300 million to Colorado State University to study ways to reduce methane emissions.
“If we’re going to have gas and oil development, it’s valuable to make sure methane emissions aren’t happening," Weiser told The Center Square. "In Colorado, we have these methane-producing wells, and we’re seeking to address it."
Bonta said the hydrogen project in California, which gets most of the federal energy funding cited on Wednesday, involves hydrogen plants and distribution.
Bonta and Weiser agreed they’re getting a high rate of return on their lawsuits against the Trump administration.
For every dollar spent suing Trump, California gets a return of nearly $10,000, Bonta said, answering The Center Square’s questions. He said that after spending $19 million so far, the state has protected $200 billion in federal funding.
“Some things are priceless,” Bonta said, citing the rights to vote and birthright citizenship and court rulings that resulted in the removal of federalized deployed National Guard and Marines from Los Angeles.
Weiser said his office received an additional $600,000 to spend on litigation against Trump and has secured $1 billion in federal funding.
Wednesday’s lawsuit is the 58th one California has filed since President Donald Trump started his second term in January 2025. For Colorado during the same period, it’s the 54th suit.
Bonta said California filed 120 lawsuits against Trump during his first term and, at the state’s current pace, is on the way to doubling that during the president’s second term. Weiser, who became the Colorado attorney general in 2019, said he filed 19 lawsuits against the first Trump administration and three times that since January 2025.
During other administrations, California has filed few, if any, lawsuits against the federal government, Bonta said.
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