Welcome to The Logoff: The Trump administration’s decision to cancel billions in foreign aid can stand, a federal appeals court said today, in a major blow to global humanitarian aid.

What did the court actually decide? A three-judge panel on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that the plaintiffs in the case weren’t eligible to bring the suit in the first place.

The majority found that only the Government Accountability Office can challenge the administration’s decision to withhold congressionally appropriated funds under a specific process laid out in the Impoundment Control Act of 1974.

What’s the context for this decision? Donald Trump and Elon Musk made US foreign aid programs one of their first targets upon taking power in January. Musk boasted about feeding the US Agency for International Development “into the wood chipper,” and Trump withheld billions in spending already authorized by Congress.

A number of humanitarian nonprofits sued to restore the withheld funds, alleging it was an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers — but today’s ruling punts on that question altogether, instead focusing on procedure.

What will the impact of this freeze be? To put it simply, US foreign aid saves lives, and cutting it will cost them. Among the money the Trump administration will now be allowed to withhold is billions of dollars in funding for HIV/AIDS prevention and other global health programs.

What else should I know? Separate from the human impact, this is a significant decision for the Trump administration’s efforts to impound congressionally appropriated funds, for foreign aid and other purposes. Unless or until the GAO sues over impoundment, the administration can keep at it and keep chipping away at the separation of powers in the process.

And with that, it’s time to log off…

You know what The Logoff hasn’t featured in a while? That’s right — an animal livestream. Today I’m spotlighting one of my favorites from Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park, Alaska.

The park’s grizzly bear population is currently hard at work catching salmon to fatten up for the winter, and you can watch them do it here (they’re doing a great job). I hope it’s a lighter moment for your evening, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow.

Welcome to The Logoff: The Trump administration plans to claw back some $7 billion in grant funding for solar energy, its latest attack on renewable energy in the US.

What are the grants for? The money the administration is targeting is intended to help with solar panel installation for low- and middle-income households and has been awarded to 60 entities, including 49 state agencies, as part of the Solar for All program. The program is a legacy of the Inflation Reduction Act, the 2022 law that dedicated nearly $370 billion to clean energy, electric vehicle tax breaks, and more.

Can the administration do this? We’re going to find out. While Congress successfully clawed back money from unobligated Solar for All grants in last month’s recissions package, this funding has already been awarded. That makes terminating the grants less straightforward, and the move is likely to be challenged in lawsuits.

The New York Times reported that grant cancellation notices could be sent out as soon as this week.

How else is the administration going after clean energy? It’s a long list. To name a few, the Environmental Protection Agency attempted to cancel an additional $20 billion in already-awarded climate grants earlier this year, only to be blocked by a federal judge, and Trump’s reconciliation package cut clean energy subsidies and electric vehicle tax credits while adding new subsidies for coal power.

What’s the big picture? This latest attack on solar power, and the administration’s broader assault on renewables, is bad news for efforts to move away from fossil fuels and advance a more sustainable future. But the bigger picture is still optimistic. Renewable energy buildout around the world is still strong, and even in the US, there’s a lot of inertia behind the ongoing transition. Clean energy expansion will continue — despite all of the antagonistic policies coming out of the Trump administration.

And with that, it’s time to log off…

Here’s some good news from my colleague Kenny Torrella: The fur industry is collapsing worldwide, and the number of animals farmed and killed for their fur has plummeted in the last decade, from around 140 million annually in 2014 to 20.5 million last year. As Kenny points out, more than 20 million animals dying per year means there’s still a long way to go — but such a steep decline is serious progress against an incredibly cruel industry, and it’s likely to continue from here.