More than two dozen states filed a federal lawsuit Thursday challenging new conditions the Trump administration placed on billions of dollars in disaster relief funding, arguing the requirements violate constitutional limits on federal spending power.

What the Lawsuit Challenges

The lawsuit, filed in Rhode Island federal court, targets Federal Emergency Management Agency and Department of Homeland Security policies requiring states to overhaul their election systems and assist with immigration enforcement to receive disaster funding. The challenged conditions mandate states transition to paper-ballot systems, conduct manual audits, reconcile voter rolls, and verify citizenship of every registered voter. States failing to comply risk losing at least 20 percent of their Homeland Security Grant Program funding, which finances protections against cyberattacks and terrorism.

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha stated the administration is threatening public safety by unlawfully withholding critical funding. The states argue the conditions on congressionally appropriated money violate the Administrative Procedure Act and the Constitution’s spending clause. The Department of Homeland Security has not commented on the legal challenge.

Pattern of Federal Overreach

This marks the latest in dozens of lawsuits challenging the administration’s strategy of conditioning federal funding on state compliance with executive branch priorities. Courts have repeatedly ruled against similar approaches involving education funding, domestic violence grants, and highway funding. Last year, U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr. blocked Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy from cutting transportation funds to states refusing immigration enforcement cooperation.

The judge wrote that states faced losing billions while being forced to relinquish sovereign rights over their police forces, potentially damaging trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities. A separate 2025 ruling barred conditions on other FEMA funding, and another blocked redirecting DHS money away from states not supporting administration policies.

Election Administration Controversy

The funding conditions reflect the administration’s ongoing focus on election procedures following Trump’s 2020 presidential loss to Joe Biden. Trump has repeatedly claimed mail voting involves widespread fraud, despite numerous audits and investigations, including Republican-led reviews, finding no evidence of such problems. The former president has launched a federal investigation into the 2020 election and expressed interest in controlling election administration in Democratic jurisdictions.

The lawsuit argues the administration is attempting to impose through funding conditions what it failed to achieve with previous efforts. States contend they maintain constitutional authority to establish election procedures and law enforcement policies serving their residents, regardless of federal funding pressure tied to unrelated policy priorities.