A pair of federal judges on Friday separately blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from unilaterally imposing new conditions on hundreds of millions in US Department of Homeland Security grants to cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York.
US District Judge William Orrick in San Jose temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from unilaterally imposing new conditions on over $350 million in US Department of Homeland Security grants to more than two dozen cities and counties in California, Washington and Arizona.
In Chicago, US District Judge Manish Shah also entered an order temporarily blocking the new conditions on more than $100 million in DHS grants to New York, Boston and several other cities.
Both judges said the Trump administration likely violated the law when it issued executive orders that sought to cut off DHS funding to local governments unless they ended programs that support diversity, equity and inclusion and complied with the president’s other executive orders. Orrick additionally barred conditions that required local governments to support federal immigration enforcement and stop providing benefits to immigrants who are in the country illegally.
Jill Habig, the CEO of Public Rights Project, which is representing the cities and counties in the lawsuits, said in a statement that the rulings provide protection for communities that need to prevent and recover from disasters.
San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego were among several cities and counties that sued the Trump administration in California on September 30, saying the federal government was playing politics with DHS and Federal Emergency Management Agency grants that local governments use to prepare for and recover from disasters.
The cities and counties in the lawsuit represent 30 million people, and they said collectively they have over $350 million in grants at stake. Local governments use the federal grants to hire first responders, fund search and rescue operations, train employees in disaster response, and prepare for events like Super Bowl LX and the 2026 FIFA World Cup, according to Santa Clara County in California, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit.
New York, Boston, Chicago and five other local governments filed their lawsuit over the funding conditions related to diversity on October 20.
The federal government has also threatened to criminally prosecute or claw back funds from localities that accept DHS money but do not comply with the new executive orders, according to the lawsuit.
Judges block Trump from cutting hundreds of millions in grants to cities, counties
https://arab.news/rj4dk
Judges block Trump from cutting hundreds of millions in grants to cities, counties
- The cities and counties in the lawsuit represent 30 million people, and they said collectively they have over $350 million in grants at stake
- Local governments use the federal grants to hire first responders, fund search and rescue operations, train employees in disaster response
Mexico’s Sheinbaum to hold a support rally following major protests
- Sheinbaum called for supporters to gather in the capital on the weekend in what analysts said was an attempt to demonstrate her support in the face of growing scrutiny
MEXICO CITY: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has organized a large rally in the country’s capital on Saturday to shore up her support following a month of political pushback and major protests.
The killing of Mayor Carlos Manzo in restive Michoacan state had sparked two days of demonstrations in November with protesters setting fire to public buildings.
Just weeks later, thousands marched through the streets of Mexico City to protest drug violence and the government’s security policies. That was followed by the abrupt departure of the country’s attorney general, Alejandro Gertz, in December over reported disagreements with Sheinbaum’s administration on crime policy.
Sheinbaum called for supporters to gather in the capital on the weekend in what analysts said was an attempt to demonstrate her support in the face of growing scrutiny.
“We close this 2025 with the historic celebration of seven years of transformation,” Sheinbaum said in a post on X.
Sheinbaum took office in 2024, following the six-year tenure of her predecessor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, with both leaders representing the left-wing Morena party.
“Let us together defend the people’s achievements ... in the Zocalo of Mexico City,” Sheinbaum added, referring to the capital’s main public square where weeks ago protesters criticizing her government’s security policies had clashed with police.
Though Sheinbaum has seen high approval ratings in her first year of power, they dipped slightly in recent months, easing from 74 percent in October to 71 percent at the start of December, according to the Polls MX survey summary.
- ‘Reshape the narrative’ -
Analysts told AFP the president not only faces scrutiny from her political opponents and members of the public, but from within her own party.
This gathering in the Zocalo, the country’s main square, is an “attempt at internal support, to reshape the narrative, to call for unity,” said political analyst Pablo Majluf.
Political columnist Hernan Gomez Bruera told AFP that Sheinbaum is “an incredibly efficient president” who likes to be in control and demands a lot from her team. But she is also “very thin-skinned” and “has difficulty dealing with dissent,” he added.
Despite a slight slip in poll numbers over the past few months, the leftist leader, who is Mexico’s first woman president, is still benefiting from a decline in poverty levels that began under her predecessor.
Sheinbaum has also won praise among her supporters for keeping at bay US President Donald Trump’s threats of high trade tariffs and military action on Mexican soil against drug cartels.
Sheinbaum met with Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Washington on Friday to discuss trade on the sidelines of the draw for the 2026 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by all three countries. She said on X following the meeting that the three nations maintain a “very good relationship.”
