The Trump administration has frozen a $250 million grant to a nonprofit helping companies replace diesel trucks at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

The grant, which would have funded about 500 electric trucks, remains frozen by Citibank, which holds the funds, while a legal dispute plays out between the US Environmental Protection Agency, the bank, and Climate United, a Maryland-based nonprofit.

Climate United's program would offer affordable leases for new electric heavy-duty trucks operated by small fleets and individual truckers serving the ports.

Climate Groups argued that the EPA and the bank were illegally withholding the money because Congress had appropriated it through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.

A federal judge ordered Citibank to pay some of the funds, but then an appeals court blocked that decision as the case continues.

In March, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin accused the $20 billion Federal Green Energy Grant program of "Misconduct, conflicts of interest, and potential fraud."

The agency, however, has not produced evidence of those claims.

The grant was intended to help small operators, many of whom can't afford electric trucks.

An electric big rig can cost $400,000, compared to less than half that for a new diesel truck.

The grant was seen as a significant step toward electrifying California's diesel trucks, which are among the biggest sources of air pollution in the LA basin.

Port-adjacent communities, including Wilmington, San Pedro, and Long Beach, have battled for years to clean up noxious fumes wafting into their neighborhoods.

Residents have long complained of health effects, including asthma and headaches.

For CalMatters, I'm Alejandro Lazo.