Federal judges in two separate cases have blocked the Trump administration from forcing local governments to abandon diversity efforts in order to qualify for public safety and disaster grants.
In federal court in Illinois, a judge on Friday issued a preliminary injunction siding with with nine cities and counties that accused the Department of Homeland Security of imposing unconstitutional conditions on federal funding. On the same day, a federal judge in California issued a similar order in a nearly identical case brought by 29 local governments, writing that courts nationwide have found similar conditions to be unconstitutional.
“The message to the executive branch in these cases is consistent: no one is above the law, and the separation of powers between the three branches must be respected,” wrote Senior Judge William Orrick of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in his decision.
Orrick, an Obama appointee, said the Trump administration’s conditions are “ambiguous and violate fundamental principles of constitutional law.” And he said harm to local governments “far exceeds” the federal government’s interests, writing that the “potential loss of millions in disaster and emergency funding for over thirty million residents — is significant.”
