The Left’s scheme to manipulate judges through taxpayer-funded "training" just hit a major roadblock.
Republican attorneys general from across the country are fighting back against one of the most insidious forms of judicial activism you’ve probably never heard of.
And Montana AG Austin Knudsen just gave EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin one ultimatum about the Climate Judiciary Project that exposed their entire operation.
Twenty-three Republican AGs demand EPA stop funding judicial manipulation
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen wasn’t mincing words when he led 22 other Republican state attorneys general in demanding that EPA chief Lee Zeldin immediately cancel all funding to a radical environmental group that’s been training judges on climate policy.
The target? The Environmental Law Institute and its Climate Judiciary Project – a scheme that’s been using your tax dollars since 2018 to push "woke climate propaganda" on judges under the guise of "neutral" education.
"As attorney general, I refuse to stand by while Americans’ tax dollars fund radical environmental training for judges across the country," Knudsen told Fox News Digital.
"The Environmental Law Institute’s Climate Judiciary Project is using woke climate propaganda, under the guise of what they call ‘neutral’ education, to persuade judges and push their wildly unpopular agenda through the court system," he explained.
The letter these AGs sent to Zeldin on Tuesday doesn’t pull any punches about what’s really happening here.
The Climate Judiciary Project’s real mission exposed
Here’s what the Environmental Law Institute doesn’t want you to know about their so-called "educational" program.
The Climate Judiciary Project pitches itself as providing judges with "authoritative, objective, and trusted education on climate science."
But the 23 attorneys general saw right through that marketing spin.
"The Climate Judiciary Project’s mission is clear: lobby judges in order to make climate change policy through the courts," they wrote in their letter to Zeldin.
And get this – an alumni magazine profile said the quiet part out loud, writing that the Climate Judiciary Project co-founder was "explaining the science of climate change to a group of people with real power to act on it: judges."
That’s not education. That’s lobbying. And it’s being done with your money.
The Environmental Law Institute has been raking in serious taxpayer cash for this operation. According to nonprofit tax documents, they received $637,591 from the EPA in 2024 and a whopping $866,402 in 2023.
That’s over $1.5 million in just two years to manipulate judges into being more "amenable to left-wing climate litigation."
EPA already cutting billions in wasteful spending
The good news? Knudsen and the other Republican AGs picked exactly the right person to make this demand.
Lee Zeldin has already taken a hatchet to wasteful spending since becoming EPA Administrator in January.
The EPA under the Trump administration has canceled $20 billion in grants under the Inflation Reduction Act – money that Zeldin said was "parked at an outside financial institution in a deliberate effort to limit government oversight, doling out your money through just eight pass-through, politically connected, unqualified, and in some cases brand-new NGOs."
The attorneys general made sure to remind Zeldin of his track record in their letter: "Under President Trump’s bold leadership, federal agencies and the Department of Government Efficiency have saved an estimated $190 billion, including terminating more than 15,000 grants that saved approximately $44 billion."
"You canceled $20 billion in climate grants under the Inflation Reduction Act. You canceled another $1.7 billion in diversity, equity, and inclusion grants. And you canceled 800 environmental justice grants."
The Left’s coordinated assault on American courts
Jason Isaac, CEO of the American Energy Institute, told Fox Digital that this represents "a coordinated campaign to advance the Green New Deal through the judiciary using so-called climate litigation in the courts."
"Its curriculum is developed by climate alarmist allies of the plaintiffs and delivered to judges behind closed doors," Isaac explained. "Public funds should never be used to finance political advocacy disguised as judicial education."
So here’s the setup: You go to work every day, the government takes a chunk of your paycheck, and that money ends up paying for secret training sessions where environmental activists teach judges how to kill American energy jobs.
O.H. Skinner from the Alliance for Consumers nailed it: "The left has a plan to reshape American society by using lawsuits in courts all across the country, especially in places like Hawaii and other coastal enclaves."
The Environmental Law Institute figured out something Democrats have known for years – if you can’t win elections, capture the courts. Get judges trained on your talking points, then file lawsuits in friendly jurisdictions where those same judges will rule your way.
Ted Cruz exposes the bigger picture
Republican Texas Senator Ted Cruz has been sounding the alarm about this "systematic campaign" for months.
Cruz argues that there’s a coordinated effort between the Chinese Communist Party and American left-wing activists to weaponize the court system to "undermine American energy dominance."
The Climate Judiciary Project is a "pivotal player" in this "lawfare" as it works to secure "judicial capture," according to Cruz.
And you know what? When you look at how this thing operates – taking your tax dollars to train judges in secret sessions using curriculum developed by climate activists – it’s hard to argue with that assessment.
The writing is on the wall for judicial manipulation schemes
The 23 attorneys general who signed this letter represent states where people actually work for a living and understand that energy independence matters.
They’re not going to sit back and watch their tax dollars fund a scheme to manipulate judges into killing American energy production.
"I commend President Trump’s efforts to cut waste and abuse during the first eight months of his presidency, and I am optimistic that his Administration will do the right thing and halt all funding to ELI," Knudsen said.
Given Zeldin’s track record of cutting wasteful grants and the Trump administration’s commitment to draining the swamp, the Environmental Law Institute’s gravy train is probably about to come to a screeching halt.
And that’s exactly what should happen when you’re caught using taxpayer money to manipulate the courts instead of trusting the American people to make their own decisions about energy policy.
¹ Emma Colton, "EPA urged by state AGs to axe funds for ‘radical’ climate project accused of training judges," Fox News, August 26, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Ibid.
