Cambridge has joined a lawsuit by Seattle and dozens of other localities challenging conditions imposed on federal grants, which gives the city a chance to get federal money without agreeing to new terms from the administration of president Donald Trump. A federal judge in Washington state has issued a preliminary order forbidding federal agencies from mandating those conditions.
City solicitor Megan Bayer told city councillors Monday that “ the recent conditions would require that the city certify that it does not operate any programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion, or certify that the programs will require recipients of funds to verify their immigration status.”
“And these conditions are unlawful, and they’re not conditions we could agree to,” Bayer said.
The lawsuit affects $6 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the city’s Continuum of Care program, which helps people transition from homelessness to housing. Though the federal government has appealed the order, it remains in effect, Bayer said.
“At this time, we are working on entering into those grant agreements without the problematic conditions and drawing down the funds that the city is entitled to,” Bayer said. The city appears to have plenty of time to finalize the grants; court filings in the case are due as late as August, according to the schedule.
King County, the home of Seattle, and seven other cities and counties, including Boston, filed suit on May 2 against HUD and several transportation agencies claiming that federal officials imposed new conditions on grants that had already been approved. U.S. District Court judge Barbara Jacobs Rothstein issued a temporary restraining order blocking the federal agencies from requiring the conditions, then approved a preliminary injunction to the same effect June 4.
Meanwhile, Cambridge and 20 other localities joined the suit. That means the court orders apply to the city, Bayer said.
The city has also filed a “friend of the court” argument supporting California governor Gavin Newsom’s suit against Trump’s order federalizing the California National Guard in Los Angeles, Bayer said. Cambridge is working on a filing with other communities against the National Institute of Health’s decision eliminating administrative costs from its research grants.
The decision to submit an argument against the NIH grant reduction “is because of the direct economic impact that it has on many municipalities, including Cambridge, where so many industries, businesses in Cambridge, receive and rely on that funding for very important research, but also are a very important part of the city’s economy,” Bayer said.
A stronger
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