Judge Blocks Anti-DEI Rules for Transportation, Housing Grants

A federal judge issued a temporary injunction blocking the Trump administration’s attempt to revoke federal funds for transportation and housing programs under new restrictions largely aimed at eliminating “DEI” initiatives, reports Greg Kim in The Seattle Times.

“Last month, King County and dozens of other municipal agencies around the country filed a lawsuit against those agencies, arguing that the executive branch lacks authority to change federal grant conditions without approval from Congress, which created the programs and holds the power to determine spending.” The lawsuit charged that the administration was trying “to coerce grant recipients that rely on federal funds into implementing President Trump’s policy agenda.” 

The injunction signals the plaintiffs have a strong chance of winning the case and that the judge agrees the loss of funds would be “devastating and irreparable.” This follows an initial 14-day pause ordered by the same judge in May. In late March, a judge ruled that HUD had to release $30 million in frozen grants to fair housing organizations. 

King County’s homelessness services and King County Metro Transit are among the programs that stand to lose millions in federal funding if the administration succeeds in imposing its new rules. Sound Transit is counting on $15 billion in federal grants over the next two decades, while “The Regional Homelessness Authority said in April that a new requirement to check that all clients served by homelessness programs are U.S. citizens would have a chilling effect on people seeking services.”