Climate action in America is facing a brutal winter, courtesy of President Trump’s funding freeze that has left billions in environmental grants stranded. With at least $19 billion in Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funding currently on lockdown, numerous outreach and infrastructure projects are left shivering.

EPA chief Lee Zeldin has taken the role of icebreaker, attempting to reclaim an additional $20 billion which he claims was mishandled in a rush to get funds out the door. He accused the former administration of throwing money at programs like the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund without proper oversight. In an apparent plot twist, Zeldin has labeled it nefarious, because what’s a funding freeze without a little scandal, right?

Environmental advocates are raising an eyebrow at Zeldin’s claims. They argue that the program was carefully designed to serve low-income communities historically left behind. After all, why would we want to support equitable investment in a time of climate crisis?

Critics of Trump’s regime are seriously concerned that this isn’t about budget discipline but rather a calculated effort to derail initiatives designed to save our planet. The stop-start-chaos has left environmental programs like clean drinking water initiatives and electric school buses hanging by a thread, impacting real communities in the process. Who could forget those families struggling to rebuild after hurricanes, or cities where energy costs have spiraled out of control? The silence from the EPA has only compounded the frustration, making it difficult for grantees to track down their gallant promised funds.

In North Carolina, MDC’s $3 million environmental justice grant to support Latino communities is caught in bureaucratic limbo, leaving families still hoping for safer ecosystems without a plan. Meanwhile, the Southwest Renewal Foundation’s $18.4 million grant for public electric vehicle stations and infrastructure in low-income communities lingers in the shadows of uncertainty; they just received an account number but that’s about as illuminating as a flashlight with dead batteries.

As funding pauses prolong, the chaos intensifies further. Recipients are left twiddling thumbs while everything from community air monitors in Texas to energy efficiency upgrades in Connecticut face potential collapse. Meanwhile, Zeldin’s administration is shaking things up by targeting DEI programs, removing resources originally intended for leveling the playing field in environmental actions.

It seems the fight isn’t over, but the war persists. As court orders call for the swift unfreezing of funds, Zeldin continues his chill campaign, making it evident that funding for climate justice across the nation remains a piece of collateral damage in a larger political game. And while some may call this mismanagement, we’d label it as an unintentional irony: it’s not just the climate that’s freezing out here, it’s the funding too! So grab your heaters and hold on tight because in this war against climate change, we’re still waiting for some seriously overdue thawing.