3 Wins for the Environment Against the Trump Administration

For more than 50 years Earthjustice has led legal battles to protect everyone’s right to a healthy environment. But, for the past year, the Trump administration has taken a sledgehammer to those environmental protections.

As the largest environmental law firm, armed with more than 200 environmental attorneys, we’re fighting back hard with the power of the law. And we are winning.

Here are three early wins:

1. Protecting Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument

Sharks and fish swim near Jarvis Island in the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument. (Brian Zgliczynski)

In April, President Trump signed a proclamation, illegally seeking to open nearly 400,000 square miles of protected waters off Hawaiʻi to commercial fishing. The waters — part of the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument — are filled with some of the most diverse aquatic life on the planet, including sharks, giant clams, and ancient coral forests.

We stopped Trump in court. In August, a federal judge found the Trump administration’s actions to gut protections violate the law. The court decided that commercial fishing in the waters around Johnston Atoll, Jarvis Island, and Wake Island must cease for now.

See stunning underwater photography from the monument.

2. Trump Administration Forced to Unfreeze $5 Billion for EV Charging

People take petitions to the Environmental Protection Agency following a Climate Action Campaign press conference about the EPA’s Climate Chaos Plan and Clean Vehicle Rollback.
CREDIT: Alyssa Schukar for Earthjustice

In May, the Trump administration froze $5 billion in funding that Congress allocated to build a national network of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations along the nation’s highways. That action followed an illegal executive order by President Trump to “terminate” clean energy investments.

But in January, in response to an Earthjustice lawsuit, a federal judge restored this funding for the stations.

Developing a network of EV charging stations is key to modernizing transportation in the U.S. and staying competitive with the rest of the world. All 50 states, as well as Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico, submitted plans to build EV chargers.

See which states faced the biggest loss of funding before the ruling.

3. Restoring Grants that Trump’s Agriculture Department Snatched from Farmers

Lazzlo Jenkins, a collective member of Agroecology Commons, cuts flowers at the organization’s demonstration farm in El Sobrante, California. The organization is primarily grant funded and was severely impacted when the Trump Administration rescinded USDA grant funding. Earthjustice represented Agroecology Commons and other groups in a lawsuit against the Administration’s actions. (Chris Jordan-Bloch/Earthjustice)

Early in 2025, the Trump administration illegally canceled more than 600 grants to farmers and organizations working to strengthen rural communities, address food insecurity, and advance sustainable agriculture. Earthjustice sued, representing several organizations who were owed more than $34 million in grants.

In August, a federal judge ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture to keep grant money flowing to groups that Earthjustice is representing. The judge found that Trump’s USDA failed to abide by the Administrative Procedures Act, which requires a reasonable explanation for the grant terminations.

Learn more about the inspiring organizations whose grants were restored.