Raoul Joins 21 States to Sue Trump Administration Over Illegal Use of a Single Clause in Federal Regulations to Terminate Critical Federal Funding for States
Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a coalition of 21 attorneys general, today filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its unlawful attempts to invoke a single provision buried in federal regulations to strip away billions of dollars in critical federal funding for states and other grantees.
The lawsuit Raoul and the coalition filed seeks to limit the Trump administration’s use of this regulation to illegally terminate critical funding used for multiple initiatives such as combating violent crime, educating students, protecting clean drinking water, and conducting lifesaving medical and scientific research that safeguards public health and addresses food insecurity.
“The Trump Administration continues to indiscriminately terminate federal funding authorized by Congress to be awarded to states to use for grants that support a wide range of often life-saving programs,” Raoul said. “I will continue to stand beside my colleagues to oppose unlawful cuts the administration enacts arbitrarily that directly impact communities in Illinois and across the country.”
Since January 20, the Trump administration has eliminated critical federal funding by invoking a single clause in the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) regulations, which states that agencies may terminate an award of federal funding if it “no longer effectuates ... agency priorities.” The lawsuit Raoul and the coalition filed argues the decision to invoke the regulation to terminate grants based on changed agency priorities is unlawful.
Raoul’s lawsuit was filed against OMB and a number of federal agencies that have unlawfully relied on the regulation to collectively slash billions of dollars in federal funding to states. Those agencies include the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Homeland Security, Justice, Labor and State, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Science Foundation.
Raoul and the attorneys general explain in the lawsuit that the regulation does not authorize federal agencies to terminate grants based on changes in agency preferences that occur after a grant is awarded. The lawsuit also notes the importance of obtaining clarity regarding the scope of this regulation, as states collectively accept hundreds of billions of dollars a year that are at risk of termination pursuant to this regulation.
Raoul and the coalition are asking the court to enter a declaratory judgment that the OMB and defendants’ regulations do not independently authorize the Trump administration to terminate funding based on agency priorities identified after the grant was awarded. The coalition is seeking to vacate the administration’s decision to invoke the regulation as grounds for terminating billions of dollars of federal funding based on purported changes in agency priorities.
Joining Raoul in filing the lawsuit are attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin, as well as the state of Pennsylvania.
