DENVER — Denver and dozens of other cities on Friday announced they were suing the Trump administration over threats to withhold millions of dollars in federal grant money earmarked for critical transportation infrastructure for not aligning with the president’s directives on immigration enforcement or diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.
The lawsuit, filed this week in U.S. District Court in Seattle, alleges a memo issued by U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy back in April was “illegal and coercive” in that it ignored the role of Congress in enacting policy and appropriating those federal funds. It also argues the directives issued by the Trump administration “have nothing to do with the substance of the grants in question, and potentially jeopardize hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars in Denver and billions of dollars across the country.”
That memo warned recipients they could lose taxpayer dollars if they failed to enforce federal immigration policy or the termination of DEI initiatives, which Trump began dismantling at the federal level as soon as he took office earlier this year.
Denver officials said the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) would not be able to support the critical needs of the city if it were to lose part of a collective $300 million in federal funding earmarked for transportation purposes.
City officials also said Denver also expected to be eligible for $267 million in grants authorized by Congress and distributed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on top of approximately $310 million the FAA issued during fiscal years 2022-2024 – funds Denver International Airport receives to support critical airport infrastructure and safety projects.
Threatening the city with withholding those grants is “unlawful and unconstitutional,” a spokesperson with the mayor’s office said Friday.
The Trump administration “does not have authority to make grants contingent on either DEI or immigration without action from Congress, which has not occurred,” the spokesperson said, adding Congress “does not have the ability to condition grants in ways unrelated to the purposes of individual programs.”
“I will continue fighting for Denverites to ensure they receive the services they pay for and are entitled to receive as taxpayers.” Mayor Mike Johnston said in a statement Friday. “The Trump Administration is willfully breaking the law and, in ignoring the separation of powers between Congress and the White House, violating the bedrock constitutional foundation on which our country was built.”
This is Denver’s second lawsuit against the Trump administration in as many weeks. On May 16, Denver joined Chicago and Pima County, Ariz., to get back $24 million in FEMA grants the city was promised to offset the costs of sheltering new immigrants between 2022 and 2024.
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