On Monday, the city of Boston sued the Trump administration over the rescission of a $20 million federal grant for infrastructure work in Roxbury.
City officials said the money was supposed to help a long-neglected section of the neighborhood become safer, less vulnerable to flooding, and easier to navigate by bus, bike, and foot.
Boston also said federal officials canceled the award because of a small electric-vehicle charging element that made up just 1% of the project's total cost.
Here's what to know
Mayor Michelle Wu announced earlier this week that the city had filed suit in response to the U.S. Department of Transportation withdrawing funds for the Roxbury Resilient Corridor project.
The grant had been awarded in 2022, according to the Boston Globe, through the federal RAISE program — short for Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity.
The proposed project focused on Warren Street, Malcolm X Boulevard, and Melnea Cass Boulevard. Boston officials said the plan fit the grant's purpose by directing improvements to a historically disadvantaged and underinvested community while improving safety and mobility.
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In its lawsuit, the city said the federal government sent a letter in September 2025 saying the project "no longer aligns with DOT priorities" because it included EV chargers, according to the Globe. Boston contends that those chargers accounted for only a tiny portion of the total budget.
The lawsuit also reportedly said the city had previously offered to remove the EV chargers from the project, but the federal government still withheld the money.
Without the federal funding, the city said it could not move forward with the project, which would have created safer sidewalks, improved pedestrian crossings, built new bike lanes, repaired roads, improved stormwater management, and upgraded bus service.
More background
Wu called the funding revocation unlawful and politically motivated.
"Boston earned this competitive grant to meet community needs and address long-needed infrastructure upgrades," she said in a statement, per the Globe.
She added, "The City of Boston will continue to fight back against lawless federal attacks, and we urge the court to reverse the Trump administration's illegal actions and restore these critical funds for Roxbury."
U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts said in a press release, "These funds are an essential investment in Roxbury and the unlawful cancellation of this grant is more evidence of [Secretary of Transportation] Sean Duffy and Donald Trump's contempt for the people we serve."
"Our shared constituents should be able to get where they need to go, and public transit is a public good," she continued.
The Department of Transportation said it is reviewing the lawsuit and "remains committed to ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and in ways that benefit all Americans," per the Globe.
Where can I learn more?
For more context on the broader fights over transportation, clean energy policy, and resilient infrastructure, these stories show how similar disputes are playing out elsewhere:
• The Energy Department pulled $3.7 billion in green project funding in 2025, disrupting major clean energy plans.
• Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy undid Biden emissions targets, reshaping federal transportation policy.
• In 2024, residents fought a controversial $10 billion highway expansion set to reshape regional transit.
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