US judge blocks Trump govt from tying counterterrorism grants to election rules

A US judge has blocked the Trump administration from tying counterterrorism grants for local governments to changes in election administration rules. The ruling was issued in a case brought by local governments challenging the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) attempt to make election-related requirements a condition for receiving funds under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP).

The case, Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee, et al. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, et al., is being heard by Judge Amir H. Ali in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The local governments argued that Congress had not conditioned the receipt of counterterrorism grants on how localities administer elections, highlighting that the HSGP is funded based on each jurisdiction's vulnerability to terrorist attacks and not to control state and local election procedures.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch Nigeria's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.