“President Trump made tackling America’s energy emergency a top priority from day one, and this review allows rural energy providers and small businesses to realign their projects with that mission,” Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said in the release.

But Hana Vizcarra, senior attorney at Earthjustice, said that it’s not clear how farmers who installed solar panels might do that, since the order is primarily about boosting fossil fuel production. Since Congress allotted the funds for specific types of projects, she added, the agency can’t legally go back and change what the money is used for.

“I think they’re being completely disingenuous. This is about finding another way to deny farmers what they’re owed,” Vizcarra said. “To me, this is not any more reasonable or lawful than the blanket freeze.” Earthjustice is currently suing the USDA over its freezing of IRA funds.

In a letter sent to farmers with REAP grants today, the agency said that if farmers don’t make updates through a web portal the USDA has set up, “it will be considered that they do not wish to make changes to their proposals, and disbursements and other actions will resume after the 30 days.” In response to a question regarding whether “other actions” might include cancellations, a USDA spokesperson sent Civil Eats the same language that was in the announcement and emphasized the word “voluntary.” Within other programs, they have been canceling individual contracts they determine don’t align with Trump’s order on DEI. (Link to this post.)