In April, five organizations have initiated a lawsuit against the Justice Department and Attorney General Pam Bondi following the termination of their grants. These cancellations, which affected over 360 awardees and totaled nearly $820 million, have been deemed unconstitutional by the plaintiffs. The organizations involved in the lawsuit include the Vera Institute of Justice, the Center for Children & Youth Justice, Chinese for Affirmative Action, FORCE Detroit, and Health Resources in Action.
The lawsuit was filed late on Wednesday in the federal court in Washington, D.C., by the Democracy Forward Foundation and the Perry Law firm. It seeks class action status and names the Office of Justice Programs and its acting head, Maureen Henneberg, as defendants. The legal action will challenge the legality of the grant terminations, arguing that due process was not adhered to, and asserting that the cancellations lacked sufficient clarity and authority.
According to the lawsuit, the grant terminations violated the constitutional separation of powers, which allocates appropriation powers to Congress. The plaintiffs noted that all affected organizations received identical letters stating that their grant programs no longer aligned with the agency's current priorities, but failed to articulate what those priorities were in clear terms of policy or law.
The lawsuit contends that federal regulations do not authorize cancellations of grants based on changing agency priorities post-award. It emphasizes that the only grounds for termination permissible under regulations are when grants no longer meet the agency's goals as specified at the time of the award. Furthermore, it asserts that the Office of Justice Programs is only authorized to terminate awards based on agency priorities if such a basis for termination is explicitly included in the terms and conditions of the award, which did not occur in this instance.
Representatives from the Vera Institute stated that the nonprofit received notice of the cancellation of five awards—totaling over $7 million—on April 4. The other organizations received similar notifications on April 22, informing them to cease all activities funded by the grants and that they would lose access to the federal funding system.
The terminated grants pertained to various programs within the Justice Department, including community violence intervention, combating hate crimes, assisting crime survivors and survivors of domestic or sexual abuse, improving juvenile justice, and law enforcement training. Many affected organizations noted that they had never faced grant cancellations in the past and had received funding across different presidential administrations, both Democratic and Republican.
The abrupt termination of these federal grants has had significant repercussions, leading to program closures, layoffs, and the loss of vital community partnerships. In addition to seeking reinstatement of funds and a stay on the cancellations, the lawsuit also requests that the court mandates monthly reports from the state to ensure compliance and oversight.
Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, commented on the situation, stating that the sudden and unlawful termination of these public safety grants is detrimental to neighborhoods across the country, causing irreparable harm to communities and diminishing safety nationwide.
