Amid a tumultuous period in which the Trump Administration has sought sweeping and sudden halts in federal programs, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Thursday challenged the cuts in court, demanding that the White House restore more than $2 billion in federal funds the state expected.
The 38-page lawsuit, filed in federal court, asks a judge to declare the freeze unconstitutional, and to prevent the administration from “freezing, pausing, conditioning, or otherwise interfering with, the disbursement of any congressionally appropriated funds that have been obligated to the Pennsylvania agencies.”
Among the state programs for which federal dollars had been allocated but were frozen by the White House, the lawsuit says, are efforts to cap leaking wells, reclaim abandoned mining sites, and reduce carbon emissions from power plants. The suit says withholding such funds already provided by Congress is “capricious” and violates spending powers that the Constitution reserves to the legislature.
Shapiro said in a statement announcing the lawsuit that Congress had previously entered into a contract with the state, approving “billions” for Pennsylvania. But “with this funding freeze, the Trump Administration is breaking that contract — and it’s my job as Governor to protect Pennsylvania’s interests.”
Shapiro, a Democrat, filed the lawsuit despite the fact that federal courts have repeatedly rejected the Trump administration’s sweeping pause on federal funding, and Shapiro’s lawyers suggest that the Trump administration is continuing to ignore court orders to restore access to the suspended money.
Shapiro added that he had urged the state’s Congressional delegation to challenge Trump’s order. “But despite those efforts, state agencies remain unable to draw down these critical dollars.”
The federal agencies named as defendants — the White House Office of Management and Budget, the Environmental Protection Agency and the departments of Energy, Interior and Transportation — did not immediately comment on the lawsuit. In the Department of Interior’s case, it said its policy is not to comment on pending litigation.
The plaintiffs include the state’s departments of Environmental Protection, Conservation and Natural Resources, Transportation and Community and Economic Development.
Notably missing from the complaint is the office of Republican Attorney General Dave Sunday, who has kept a low profile as concern about the White House actions have mounted. In January, 22 state attorneys general challenged other funding freezes enacted by the White House, but Sunday was not among them.
He remained quiet this week, when the Trump administration announced funding cuts to research institutions through the NIH. That move has raised alarms at universities across the state, including the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. A spokesperson for Sunday’s office told WESA earlier this week that the office was speaking with research institutions about the NIH cuts, and said the office was still "assessing the best approach to protect their interests."
Former auditor general Eugene DePasquale, who ran as a Democrat against Sunday in the 2024 attorney general’s race, told WESA on Tuesday that not suing the federal government over such cuts could become “a problem for our state and for our region, if it results in funds lost” by not being party to a successful lawsuit over the freeze.
The Attorney General’s office usually takes the lead in defending the state’s interests in court. And when Shapiro himself served as attorney general prior to becoming governor, he sued the first Trump administration over contraceptive access and immigration procedures, among other challenges.
But state law also allows lawyers in the governor’s office to take action on behalf of its agencies, even if the attorney general refrains from taking action.
"My office is taking a deliberate and calculated approach in response to recent federal orders and actions," said Sunday in a statement after Shapiro's lawsuit was filed. "I am a firm believer in the Rule of Law, and that these matters will be resolved by the courts and that Pennsylvania will be incorporated in those court proceedings."
But he said that Shapiro had requested that the AG delegate the handling of the matter to the administration's own team of lawyers. Shapiro's office "as representative of Commonwealth agencies, has familiarity and expertise regarding the disputed funding and how it is used by the affected agencies, so the appropriate action was to grant the Governor’s request"
“Usually the attorney general's office takes the lead, not the governor's office, but the governor's office may decide to go that route now,” DePasquale said prior to Thursday’s filing. “But obviously, that's up to them.”
When the governor and attorney general don’t agree on suing, one or the other can take the lead on a lawsuit, said Duquesne University law professor Bruce Ledewitz, an expert on the state constitution.
“The point of signing on to one of these briefs is to say, ‘It is the position of Pennsylvania that President Trump is right or President Trump is wrong,’” Ledewitz said.
State House Democrats were quick to applaud Shapiro’s move.
“We strongly support Governor Shapiro’s action to protect Pennsylvanians, support communities and cut costs by challenging this funding freeze,” the caucus said in a statement. “Blocking these critical funds is an unacceptable attack on Pennsylvania families, communities and economic stability.”
Tom Schuster, Director of the Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter, hailed the suit in a statement that said the funding freeze "jeopardizes critical environmental restoration projects and potentially thousands of jobs. Above all, though, this is about the rule of law. ... We applaud Governor Shapiro for standing up for the Constitution and fighting back against this brazen power grab."
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
