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Updated on: July 23, 2026 / 6:08 PM EDT
/ CBS News
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A coalition of states is suing the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security, accusing the Trump administration of withholding hundreds of millions of dollars in disaster-preparedness and homeland security grants to force states to adopt its policies on elections and immigration. The complaint challenges new conditions imposed on the funding that would require states to verify voter citizenship through a federal database, move toward hand-marked paper ballots, conduct federally prescribed election audits and cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. The lawsuit was filed by a group of 25 states and the District of Columbia.They estimate that FEMA could withhold at least 20% of Homeland Security Grant Program awards — about $148 million from the plaintiff states — and potentially terminate entire awards for continued noncompliance, moving forward.DHS funds typically offer emergency-management support — reimbursing for first responders, bomb squads, cybersecurity, disaster response and security at houses of worship. The lawsuit alleges DHS is using the funds as leverage over policies that the states argue are largely unrelated to those programs as part of a pressure campaign.The lawsuit also challenges language that would permit FEMA to cancel grants that no longer align with the administration's changing priorities or view of the "national interest." The states argue that such authority would make multiyear federal awards unreliable and give the executive branch a way to redirect spending approved by Congress.
