WA sues Trump admin after Homeland Security cuts funding ‘for political purposes’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Twelve attorneys general sued the Trump administration over DHS funding cuts.
- Plaintiffs allege $233 million cut for states disagreeing with immigration policy.
- Washington filed its 39th lawsuit, citing a $2M decline in homeland security funds.
Update 5:30 p.m. Sept. 30: A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from cutting security funding to Washington and several other states that have resisted the president’s mass-deportation efforts.
A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from unlawfully reallocating federal homeland security funding away from states based on their compliance with the administration’s political agenda, a day after a coalition of states including Washington filed a lawsuit.
Earlier: Washington is teaming up with a coalition of states in suing the Trump administration for reallocating homeland security dollars “for political purposes.”
The move, the 12 attorneys general contend, was unlawful and/or unconstitutional.
Attorney General Nick Brown’s office announced the lawsuit Monday afternoon. Brown and company argue that the administration of President Donald Trump is tightening the federal-funding spigot to target states with immigration policies that it disagrees with.
Named as defendants: the Department of Homeland Security, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and FEMA leader David Richardson.
“There is no force in American politics that is more reckless and destructive than the current president of the United States,” Brown said in a Sept. 29 news release. “This latest action again highlights his commitment to undermining the freedoms and well-being of people in every corner of this nation that may disagree with him.”
McClatchy has reached out to the White House, DHS and FEMA seeking comment.
This marks the 39th case against the Trump administration filed by Washington state.
Brown’s office explained that this weekend, four days ahead of the close of the federal fiscal year, DHS and FEMA abruptly and severely slashed funding to states that aren’t playing ball with the Trump administration’s immigration plans.
The Keep Washington Working Act, for instance, restricts local and state law enforcement from assisting in federal immigration enforcement.
This sudden federal shift came days after a group of AGs, including Brown, had landed a permanent injunction and an opinion finding that the agencies violated the law and Constitution by conditioning all federal dollars from DHS and FEMA on whether states would agree to help with enforcement of federal immigration law, Brown’s office notes.
After that, the suing AGs say, the agencies tried to double down. On Saturday the feds opted to significantly cut plaintiffs’ grant funding and redirect that money to other, “more favored” states.
FEMA chose to send the states behind the lawsuit $226 million, representing a $233 million — or 51% — decrease in homeland security funds from the initial stated amount.
The lawsuit says that the reason behind the sudden decision to reallocate that $233 million is clear.
“Although DHS has for decades administered federal grant programs in a fair and evenhanded manner, the current Administration is taking money from its enemies,” the suit reads.
Such funding is often used to pay for first responders’ salaries and needed training, plus disaster preparation and prevention, the AGs say. For decades the federal grant programs had been administered evenhandedly.
Washington’s expected allotment suddenly saw a $2 million decline, amounting to an 11% decrease. Other states witnessed steeper drops, such as New York’s more than $100 million: a 79% reduction.
The leading attorneys general behind the suit are from Illinois, New Jersey, California and Rhode Island. Other coalition partners include Brown and his counterparts from Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Vermont and New York.
This story was originally published September 30, 2025 at 11:37 AM with the headline "WA sues Trump admin after Homeland Security cuts funding ‘for political purposes’."
.jpg)