Archive · 29 Sep 2026
Judge Blocks Trump Election Conditions on Counterterrorism Grants
A federal judge stopped the Trump administration from tying some safety grants to election rules.
The grants are meant to help communities protect against terrorism and cyberattacks.
The administration wanted to hold back 20% of the money until states met several election requirements.
These requirements included checking voters’ citizenship and creating plans to use paper ballots.
They also required jurisdictions to show that they audit election results.
The judge said Congress had not given federal agencies the power to impose these conditions.
Several cities and counties had sued to stop the policy.
They said states, not FEMA, have traditionally managed elections.
A federal judge blocked the administration from withholding counterterrorism grants over election-related requirements.
Judge Amir Ali ruled that federal agencies lacked congressional authority to add the conditions to the grants.
The requirements included citizenship checks, paper-ballot plans, and election-audit procedures.
FEMA had planned to withhold 20% of grants until states and urban areas complied.
Cities and counties that sued called the policy an abuse of power and a threat to state election authority.
- Who
- U.S. District Judge Amir Ali ruled in a lawsuit brought by Columbus, Nashville and Davidson County, El Paso, Harris, Dallas and Travis counties, along with the Trump administration and federal agencies.
- What
- The judge blocked the withholding of counterterrorism grant funds over election-administration conditions.
- When
- The ruling was issued Monday; the grant announcement was made over the summer, ahead of November’s midterm elections.
- Where
- The ruling came from federal court in Washington, D.C., and concerns grants to states, urban areas, and local and tribal governments.
- Why
- The judge said federal agencies lacked congressional authority to add election-related conditions to grants intended for counterterrorism and infrastructure protection.
Plaintiff jurisdictions
Trump administration
Federal authority over elections
Plaintiff jurisdictions
The cities and counties argued that FEMA was not authorized by its governing statute or the Constitution to decide who can vote, how ballots are counted, or how voter rolls are maintained.
Trump administration
The administration attached election-related requirements to counterterrorism grant funding and sought to withhold 20% of the grants until jurisdictions complied.
Use of grant funding
Plaintiff jurisdictions
The plaintiffs said the conditions were unrelated to the grants’ underlying purpose and described the policy as an abuse of power and a partisan bargaining tactic.
Trump administration
The grant announcement linked funding to requirements involving voter citizenship checks, paper-ballot plans, and election audits.
Who should manage elections
Plaintiff jurisdictions
The plaintiffs said election administration has traditionally been handled by states and that FEMA had never previously claimed authority to regulate how states and counties run elections.
Trump administration
The administration’s grant conditions sought to shape election administration through federal funding requirements.
- Judge
- U.S. District Judge Amir Ali
- Grant agency
- Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
- Funds at issue
- More than $1 billion in grants
- Planned grant awards
- FEMA expected to award 56 grants
- Withheld amount
- 20% of grants for states and urban areas
- Election requirements
- Citizenship verification, paper-ballot transition plans for some electronic systems, and election-audit documentation
- Plaintiffs
- Columbus; Nashville and Davidson County; El Paso and Harris counties; and Dallas and Travis counties