A group of prominent cities and counties are suing the Trump administration for withholding tens of millions of dollars in anti-terrorism funding unless states and local governments agree to change how they conduct elections.
Harris County and El Paso County in Texas; Nashville, Tennessee, and Columbus, Ohio are participating in the suit.
The lawsuit challenges the Federal Emergency Management Agency's June 2026 decision to hold back 20% or even all Homeland Security Grant Program grants unless the jurisdictions comply with five election administration orders.
Those include what voting equipment counties use, how voters cast their ballots, when post-election audits and ballot reconciliation should be done and mandates that voter-roll and election worker
citizenship be checked using a federal database thatjudges in other lawsuits have said is flawed and contains inaccuracies.
“Holding cities hostage by threatening anti-terrorism funding if they don’t go along with the president’s absurd election manipulation is as dangerous as it is illegal,” Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein said in a statement.
The Homeland Security Grant Program was created by Congress in 2001 to help state and local governments prevent, prepare for, protect against and respond to terrorism.
The U.S. Constitution puts states in control of election administration, but for the past 18 months the Trump administration has repeatedly attempted to assert federal control over how elections are run. Many of those efforts have been stopped in federal court.
A FEMA spokesperson said the pushback was expected and that election security is part of national security.
"Concerns over voting processes, data security, and registration practices have made it clear that action is required. This year, states must take critical, common-sense steps to protect U.S. elections before receiving their full Homeland Security Grant Program awards," the spokesperson said. "These new requirements will preserve election integrity.”
The cities and counties argue that withholding the anti-terrorism funding has nothing to do with election administration. The Department of Homeland Security has not yet filed a response to the suit.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump election demands spark suit over anti-terrorism funding
