Trump Further Blocked From Imposing Federal Grant Conditions

The Trump administration was dealt another blow in federal court Tuesday after a judge extended a court order barring it from conditioning the grant funding for a number of cities and counties on fulfilling its policy goals.

The suing US cities and counties led by Fresno, Calif., have shown they’re likely to succeed on the merits of their claims and face irreparable harm if the grant conditions are allowed to be enforced, Judge Richard Seeborg said in an order. The US District Court for the Northern District of California granted the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction.

The district court finds a “likelihood of success on the merits for Plaintiffs’ arbitrary and capricious, in excess of statutory authority, and contrary to the constitution claims,” Seeborg said.

The ruling comes after Seeborg granted the cities and counties a temporary restraining order on Aug. 27, holding they showed serious questions whether Congress authorized the grant conditions and whether they’re germane to relevant federal grant programs. They also showed serious questions whether the conditions violate the Spending Clause, Fifth Amendment, Tenth Amendment, and the Administrative Procedure Act.

The plaintiffs are targeting multiple executive orders from President Donald Trump, with one being signed as recently as Aug. 7 mandating grant awards to advance the president’s policy priorities. The order said the funds can’t be used to further goals related to racial preferences, denial of “the sex binary in humans or the notion that sex is a chosen or mutable characteristic,” illegal immigration, or other “anti-American values.”

The cities and counties allege the administration imposed “vague and unauthorized conditions” on grant funds by mandating that they remove all references to the words “equity” and “environmental justice,” and all transgender references.

Fresno alleges it received a letter on Aug. 18 from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development questioning the accuracy of its certification that its grant funds would be used “in conformity with applicable laws, including executive orders.”

The parties met before Seeborg on Tuesday in a virtual motion hearing. The administration urged that any injunctive relief be limited to a bar on enforcing any conditions the court deems unlawful.

Plaintiffs also include the cities of Eureka, Calif., South Lake Tahoe, Calif., and St. Paul, Minn., the counties of Sacramento, Calif., and Monroe, N.Y., as well as the Monroe County Airport Authority.

Renne Public Law Group LLP represents the plaintiffs.

The case is City of Fresno v. Turner, N.D. Cal., No. 3:25-cv-07070, 9/23/25.