Chicago Sues Trump, Refusing to Drop DEI as Condition for Federal Money

Several blue cities, led by Chicago, want federal money to keep flowing but aren’t willing to abide by the Trump administration’s condition of dropping diversity, equity, and inclusion policies to get it.

Joining Chicago in the lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are Boston, New York, Baltimore, Denver, Minneapolis, St. Paul, and New Haven, Connecticut. 

The cities filed the case of Chicago v. Noem in federal court in the Northern District of Illinois Monday. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is named in her official capacity as the defendant. 

“This is yet another example of a lawsuit trying to obstruct President [Donald] Trump’s agenda and the will of the American people,” a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told The Daily Signal in an email Tuesday. 

“Recipients of federal funds are required to follow anti-discrimination laws and may not use those funds for climate activism, DEI initiatives, or other unrelated activities,” the DHS spokesperson added. “At the direction of Secretary Noem, FEMA has implemented additional controls to ensure that all grant program activity is consistent with law and does not promote fraud, waste, or abuse, as it has in the past. We will continue to ensure that U.S. taxpayer dollars are being used wisely and for mission-critical efforts.”

The DHS and FEMA dollars in question are not for responses to emergencies or disasters. Rather, the funds are intended to help cities train first responders, modernize emergency operations centers, purchase equipment such as hazmat suits, or build public alert systems. 

The lawsuit says DHS conditions would require jurisdictions to certify that they don’t operate any “programs that advance or promote DEI, DEIA [diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility], or discriminatory equity ideology” in order to get the funding. 

Plaintiffs claim that putting the conditions on funding violates the separation of powers, since Congress has already appropriated some of the funding that the executive branch is now trying to put conditions on. Further, they allege that the decision to withhold the money was arbitrary and violates the Administrative Procedures Act, which sets out specific rules by which the government can adopt new regulations, including the requirement to seek public comment on those proposed regulations. 

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker have already been on the front lines of legal challenges to the Trump administration during Trump’s second term. In a similar case this summer, Chicago sued to oppose the administration’s withholding of federal funding for sanctuary cities that refuse to assist federal law enforcement with the enforcement of immigration laws. And Illinois recently sued to block National Guard troops from being deployed to protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Chicago. 

“Chicago will not stand by while the federal government weaponizes emergency funding to attack our values,” Johnson said in a public statement. 

“Chicago will always uphold the importance of our diversity. Ensuring that all Chicagoans have an opportunity to succeed is not discrimination; it’s just basic fairness,” he added. “We will fight to ensure our first responders have the tools they need, that our commitment to equity and inclusion remains strong, and that we receive every federal dollar intended for public safety.”

The Department of Homeland Security is following an executive order that Trump signed on the first day of his second term to stop DEI and DEIA programs in the federal government pushed by the Biden administration, and also to halt federal grant money going to such programs outside the federal government. 

“Terminate, to the maximum extent allowed by law, all DEI, DEIA, and ‘environmental justice’ offices and positions (including but not limited to ‘Chief Diversity Officer’ positions); all ‘equity action plans,’ ‘equity’ actions, initiatives, or programs, ‘equity-related’ grants or contracts; and all DEI or DEIA performance requirements for employees, contractors, or grantees,” Trump’s executive order says.