Federal judge rules Trump administration cannot put conditions on domestic violence grants
A federal judge ruled Friday that the Trump administration cannot impose conditions on grants to fund development efforts. combating domestic violenceincluding preventing groups from promoting diversity, equity and inclusion or providing abortion resources.
U.S. District Court Judge Melissa DuBose in Providence, Rhode Island, granted a request from 17 statewide anti-domestic and sexual violence coalitions for a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from enforcing its terms while the case is pending.
“Without preliminary relief, Plaintiffs face irreparable harm that will disrupt vital services for victims of homelessness and domestic and sexual violence,” DuBose wrote in his decision. “On the contrary, if a preliminary injunction is granted, the Defendants will simply have to return to considering grant applications and funding as they normally do.”
But DuBose expanded the scope of his decision even further. It ruled that the decision blocking these grant terms goes beyond the plaintiffs and applies to anyone who applies for money distributed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“Organizations that serve victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, LGBTQ+ youth, and people experiencing homelessness should not be forced to go out of business, erase the identities of those they serve, or compromise their values just to keep their doors open,” Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, one of the groups representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement. “This illegal and harmful policy puts extreme plans ahead of people’s dignity and safety by restricting essential federal support.”
Emily Martin, chief program officer at the National Women’s Law Center, one of five organizations representing the coalitions, also welcomed the decision.
“While this administration claims to target ‘illegal DEI’ and ‘gender ideology,’ what it is actually trying to do is remove life-saving services from victims of sexual and domestic violence, LGBTQ+ youth, and people without homes,” Martin said. “Today’s order makes clear that these federal grants exist to serve people in need, not to advance a reactionary political agenda.”
Neither HUD nor HHS responded to a request for comment.
In their July lawsuit, the groups said the Trump administration had put them in a difficult position.
unless they apply for federal money allocated under Violence Against Women Act 1994, They may not be able to provide rape crisis centers, battered women’s shelters, and other programs to support victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. But if the groups applied, they said, they would be forced to “fundamentally alter their programs, abandon outreach methods and programs designed to best serve their communities, and risk exposing themselves to devastating liability.”
The groups suing, including organizations combating domestic violence from California to Rhode Island, claim the conditions violate the First Amendment. They also argue that the conditions violate the Administrative Procedure Act by overstepping the defendants’ authority “in some cases by completely contradicting applicable law or failing to comply with due process.”
The government argues that the matter concerns payments to these groups and should therefore be handled by the Court of Federal Claims.
Even if the authority claim fails, the government argues that federal agencies can impose conditions on funding that will “advance specific policies and priorities consistent with the authority provided by the grant program statute.”
“Both agencies have long required compliance with federal anti-discrimination law as a condition of receiving federal grants,” the government wrote in court documents.
Another Rhode Island judge granted a preliminary injunction in August in a lawsuit filed by some of the same groups against the Justice Department.
