SEATTLE (AP) — A federal judge has halted the Trump administration’s attempt to impose additional requirements on billions of dollars in mass transit funding allocated to the Seattle region and homeless assistance funds designated for cities like Boston, New York, and San Francisco. The ruling was issued on Wednesday.
The new conditions were designed to further President Donald Trump’s efforts to
eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion policies;
force local officials to help with the government’s large-scale deportation initiatives; and restrict access to information regarding legal terminations of pregnancy, as stated in the lawsuit submitted last week by eight municipalities and regions.
The administration argued that Senior U.S. District Judge Barbara Rothstein in Seattle did not have jurisdiction over the lawsuit because it was essentially a contract dispute that should have been brought in the Court of Federal Claims — an argument the judge rejected.
Rothstein wrote that the local governments had shown they were likely to win the case, because the conditions being imposed on the grants had not been approved by Congress, were not closely related to the purposes of the grants and would not make the administration of the grants more efficient.
“By placing plaintiffs in a situation where they must either accept terms they view as unconstitutional or risk losing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants—including funds they’ve already planned for and pledged to spend—the defendants have left them with an untenable choice,” Rothstein stated.
Her directive prevents the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Federal Transit Administration from implementing the new grant conditions or halting funds granted under these programs for a period of two weeks. Meanwhile, the local governments stated their intention to pursue a more extended injunction.
The Trump administration did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
King County, which includes Seattle, sued over changes to grant conditions for homelessness services as well as mass transit funding that helps pay for maintenance of the region’s light rail system. Boston and New York, Pierce and Snohomish Counties in Washington, the city and county of San Francisco, and Santa Clara County in California all sued over the changes to
homelessness
services grants.
“Today’s ruling is a positive first step in our challenge to federal overreach,” King County Executive Shannon Braddock said in a statement. “We will continue to stand up against unlawful actions to protect our residents and the services they rely on.”
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AP reporter Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this report.
