Seattle suing Trump administration over order to withhold federal funds from ‘anarchist jurisdictions’

SEATTLE — Seattle, Portland, and New York filed a federal lawsuit Thursday challenging President Trump’s memorandum ordering federal funds to be withheld from jurisdictions that “are permitting anarchy, violence and destruction in American cities.”

The cities say the executive branch doesn’t have the authority to add conditions to funds without congressional authorization and that designating the cities as “anarchist jurisdictions” was “based on a set of vague and subjective factors entirely within the U.S. Attorney General’s discretion.”

The lawsuit challenges the withholding of funds on five grounds, including violation of the Separation of Powers and the 10th Amendment of the Constitution.

The cities ask that the “anarchist jurisdiction” designations be removed from them and stop the Department of Justice and Office of Management and Budget from carrying out the administration’s plan.

The president’s memo says the “Federal Government provides States and localities with hundreds of billions of dollars every year, which fund a wide array of programs, such as housing, public transportation, job training, and social services,” and declares that the “(Trump) Administration will not allow federal tax dollars to fund” what it deems “anarchist jurisdictions.”

According to the city:

• It has budgeted for more than $236 million in federal grants for the fiscal year.
• The city was given $177 million in federal grants that are largely for social programs, transportation and coronavirus aid for this year and beyond.
• About 14% of the Seattle Department of Transportation’s funding in 2020 is from federal sources.
• Federal funding is nearly a a quarter of the Human Services Department budget.
• Seattle received over $18 million in Community Development Block Grant funds.
• Seattle has also been granted over $3.8 million from the Emergency Solutions Grant Program, about $3.4 million from the Home Investment Partnerships Program, and over $3.3 million from the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS in 2020.

Cox Media Group