A coalition of 25 Democratic state attorneys general, led by California’s Rob Bonta, filed suit in federal court in Rhode Island challenging conditions the Trump administration has attached to federal disaster preparedness and counter-terrorism grants. The attorneys general assert that the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency have imposed requirements affecting more than $740 million in combined funding that constitute an “unlawful” effort to coerce states into adopting administration policies.
Among the contested requirements are mandates that states employ a federal citizenship verification system for voters and conduct post-election audits. The lawsuit also addresses the agencies’ attempts to withhold funds from states declining to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement with deportation operations—a mandate that a federal court previously struck down. Additionally, the legal challenge targets a new provision allowing Fema to cancel state grants deemed misaligned with agency priorities.
Bonta characterized the administration’s approach as leveraging funding to advance political objectives. “President Trump has little support for both his mass deportation agenda and his baseless claims of election fraud, so instead, he’s trying to bully state and local governments into adopting his preferred policies in exchange for much-needed funding,” he stated.
A Fema spokesperson defended the requirements as “commonsense measures,” describing the lawsuit as “partisan pushback” and asserting that “election security is national security.” The agencies characterized the new requirements as necessary to preserve election integrity and protect critical infrastructure.
The legal challenge represents a continuation of disputes over the same grant programs. Democratic attorneys general have previously won two lawsuits challenging similar conditions. In affirming the second ruling, a Trump-appointed judge determined that withholding funds based on what appeared to be political motivations was “unconscionable and, at least here, unlawful.” Bonta stated his expectation that the administration would again face legal defeat.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI