Trump’s Choice Is Clear: Corporate Interests Over Communities

Even so, Lee Zeldin’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced it would terminate GGRF with no evidence of misuse or fraud—leaving these projects and the communities they support stranded. This unprecedented move highlights how the EPA, once an agency dedicated to public service and benefiting the American people, has shifted toward weaponization and prioritizing fossil fuel interests over the public good. Instead of embracing smarter energy choices that could help cut down on costs, the Trump administration’s EPA is cutting programs that drive those results, all to cater to a few fossil fuel interests and political allies.

Baseless attacks claiming "fraud" are creating chaotic uncertainty and pulling the rug out from under these consensus-based, locally-driven projects. Even to the most skeptical observer, the GGRF is a well-designed, transparent program. The program operates through a process using a Financial Agency Agreement (FAA) with Citibank, a trusted financial structure used by both Republican and Democratic administrations for decades. This ensures rigorous oversight while fostering collaboration with the private sector to drive economic growth, create jobs, and revitalize communities.

The Broader Assault on Clean Energy

The campaign against the GGRF is part of a larger political effort to villainize clean energy solutions that deliver direct economic benefits, like job creation and lower energy costs, to communities across the country. By targeting programs like the GGRF, Republicans in the federal government are not just cutting funding but locking us into an outdated economic model that will leave us behind as the world embraces clean energy. These attacks serve fossil fuel interests, condemning Americans to rising energy costs and pollution. They are part of a deliberate, coordinated effort to spread disinformation and protect a broken status quo that serves ultra-wealthy campaign donors. 

Even members of their own party, especially at the state and local levels, recognize that clean energy offers real economic benefits—creating jobs and attracting investment in communities. Rather than promoting growth and innovation, these attacks risk stagnation, job losses, and the continuation of the high electricity costs that clean energy programs aim to solve.

Why We Need You in This Fight

As legal challenges to the Trump administration’s illegal cuts continue, it's crucial that we make the stakes clear and ensure the truth is widely understood. GGRF is a big deal program when it comes to increasing access to clean energy and improving quality of life for more Americans. It’s a rare, powerful opportunity to drive economic growth, reduce costs, and build a more reliable power system. While Trump’s cuts are rightly being contested in court, we must also push back against the disinformation that threatens to derail support for these critical programs. We need to amplify the real, positive impact these programs are having, especially in underserved communities.

We must protect GGRF and reject politically motivated, baseless pressure to cut cost-saving programs. Congress and state leaders must stand firm against these illegal cuts and defend American communities’ chance to rebuild.

This piece was written by Courtney Brady, Julia Kortrey, Sandie Raines, and edited by Medhini Kumar.