Ninth Circuit largely upholds injunction blocking Trump admin grant conditions

The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday largely confirmed a district-court injunction that stops the Trump administration from adding politically charged conditions to billions of dollars in federal grants. The suit, brought by a coalition of local governments including King County, Washington; San Francisco; Boston; and New York City, challenged restrictions that tied funding to issues like gender ideology, elective abortions, illegal immigration and shielding non-citizens from deportation.

The appellate court agreed that most of these conditions exceed the authority granted by Congress, preserving only those that require compliance with federal antidiscrimination law under Title VI. Judges Margaret McKeown wrote for the majority, emphasizing the overreach, while Judge Patrick Bumatay dissented, arguing the court was intruding on policy decisions. Local officials praised the ruling as a safeguard for essential services such as affordable housing, homelessness assistance, and public-health programs. The Department of Transportation noted a modest win regarding the antidiscrimination exception.