LOS ANGELES – Today, City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto announced that the City of Los Angeles (“City” or “Los Angeles”) has joined two lawsuits against the Trump Administration to protect federal funds and stop executive overreach. In King County v. Turner, the City joined a coalition of local governments, led by King County, Washington, to challenge unlawful conditions tied to funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”), the Department of Transportation (“DOT”) and the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”). In San Francisco v. Trump, the lead plaintiffs, the City and County of San Francisco and the County of Santa Clara, petitioned the court for permission to add Los Angeles and a coalition of other cities and counties as new plaintiffs to a pending lawsuit seeking to prevent the Trump administration from enforcing Executive Orders that punish and withhold federal funding to sanctuary cities.
“This administration is unlawfully threatening to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars that fund essential public safety and services. The attempt to cudgel our city by imposing unlawful conditions on essential allocations and grants violates the Constitution and impermissibly interferes with our core functions, sovereignty and local control,” said Hydee Feldstein Soto, Los Angeles City Attorney. “Any loss in funding would have a devastating impact on the City’s budget and overall finances.”
President Trump has issued numerous Executive Orders (EO) directing his administration, including the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to withhold federal funds and penalize so-called sanctuary jurisdictions. On Inauguration Day, President Trump issued an EO to force local authorities to carry out federal civil immigration activities. He then issued another EO which directed the DOJ and DHS to withhold federal funds from jurisdictions that refuse to use their local resources to carry out his immigration agenda. These two lawsuits allege that such actions are unconstitutional.
Specifically, the coalition in San Francisco v. Trump alleges that the President’s Executive Orders violate the Tenth Amendment, Separation of Powers, the Spending Clause, and the Due Process Clause and seeks to enjoin the administration from enforcing it.
In King County v. Turner, led by Martin Luther King, Jr. County of the State of Washington, the coalition is challenging Trump Administration officials in numerous departments, including HUD, DOT, and HHS, which are authorized to disperse federal grants, stating that only Congress, and not the President, can establish permissible conditions that agencies may impose upon a grant award.
According to the complaint, HUD, DOT, and HHS seek to impose conditions on funding to coerce grant recipients, like the City of Los Angeles, into implementing President Trump’s policy agenda, and direct them to adopt his legal positions, contrary to settled law, particularly as it relates to immigration enforcement, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs, and reproductive health services. By unilaterally imposing grant conditions that bear little or no connection to the purposes of grant programs Congress established, administration officials are usurping Congress’s power of the purse. Through this litigation, the City is seeking to protect more than $470 million in grant funds that would fund, among other things, the purchase of new transit buses, airport infrastructure improvements, and housing and community development programs.
More broadly, federal grants play a critical role in funding core City of Los Angeles services. During fiscal year 2025-2026 alone, which started July 1, the City expects to receive over $704 million in federal funds, over $374 million of which come in the form of formula grants. These funds support emergency response programs; police officer hiring; crime prevention and victim assistance programs, including supportive services for domestic violence victims and gang reduction and youth development programs; rape kit processing; homeless services, development and management of affordable housing and permanent supporting housing; security upgrades for the Port of Los Angeles; services for senior residents in the City, including nutrition programs, senior centers, and transportation assistance and disaster recovery money related to recent wildfires and winter storms. None of these federally funded programs involve immigration enforcement.
As part of her ongoing efforts to support Angelenos amidst the unlawful immigration raids, on Tuesday, City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto announced that her office, along with the County of LA and several other cities, and co-counsel Munger Tolles & Olsen, last week filed a motion to intervene in a federal lawsuit, Vasquez Perdomo v. Noem, that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Public Counsel, and other immigration and civil rights groups filed earlier this month.
Case No. 2:25-cv-00814-BJR
Second Amended Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief
Martin Luther King, Jr. County; Pierce County; Snohomish County; City and County of San Francisco; County of Santa Clara; City of Boston; City of Columbus; City of New York; City & County of Denver; Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County; Pima County; County of Sonoma; City of Bend; City of Cambridge; City of Chicago; City of Culver City; City of Minneapolis; City of Pasadena; City of Pittsburgh; City of Portland; City of San José; City of Santa Monica; City of Tucson; City of Wilsonville; Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority; Intercity Transit; San Francisco County Transportation Authority; Treasure Island Mobility Management Agency; Port of Seattle; King County Regional Homelessness Authority; Santa Monica Housing; County of Alameda; Mayor And City Council of Baltimore; City of Bellevue; City of Bellingham; City of Bremerton; County of Dane; City of Eugene; City of Healdsburg; County of Hennepin; Kitsap County; City of Los Angeles; City of Milwaukee; Milwaukee County; Multnomah County; City of Oakland; City of Pacifica; City of Petaluma; Ramsey County; City of Rochester; City of Rohnert Park; City of San Diego; San Mateo County; City of Santa Rosa; City of Watsonville; Culver City Housing Authority; Puget Sound Regional Council; and Sonoma County Transportation Authority
Vs.
Scott Turner in his official capacity as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; Sean Duffy in his official capacity as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation; the U.S. Department of Transportation; Tariq Bokhari in his official capacity as Acting Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration; The Federal Transit Administration; Gloria M. Shepherd in her official capacity as Acting Director of the Federal Highway Administration; The Federal Highway Administration; Chris Rocheleau in his official capacity as Acting Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration; The Federal Aviation Administration; Drew Feeley in his official capacity as Acting Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration; The Federal Railroad Administration; Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. in his official capacity as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Case No. 25-CV-01350-WHO
Plaintiffs’ Notice of Motion and Motion for Leave to File Second Amended Complaint; Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Support
[Proposed] Second Amended Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief
City and County of San Francisco, County of Santa Clara, City of Portland, Martin Luther King, Jr. County, City of New Haven, City of Oakland, City of Emeryville, City of San José, City of San Diego, City of Sacramento, City of Santa Cruz, County of Monterey, City of Seattle, City of Minneapolis, City of St. Paul, City of Santa Fe, County of Alameda, City of Albany, City of Albuquerque, County of Allegheny, City of Baltimore, City of Bend, City of Benicia, City of Berkeley, City of Boston, City of Cambridge, City of Cathedral City, City of Chicago, City of Columbus, City of Culver City, County of Dane, City and County of Denver, City of Healdsburg, County of Hennepin, City of Los Angeles, County of Marin, City of Menlo Park, Multnomah County, City of Pacifica, City of Palo Alto, City of Petaluma, Pierce County, City of Richmond, City of Rochester, City of Rohnert Park, County of San Mateo, City of Santa Rosa, County of Sonoma, City of Watsonville, City of Wilsonville.
Vs.
Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, United States Of America, Pamela Bondi, Attorney General of the United States, Emil Bove, Acting Deputy Attorney General, United States Department of Justice, Kristi Noem, Secretary of United States Department of Homeland Security, United States Department of Homeland Security, Russell Vought, Director of United States Office of Management and Budget, United States Office of Management And Budget.
###
Hydee Feldstein Soto is the 43rd Los Angeles City Attorney, elected in November 2022 and sworn into office in December 2022. Her team of nearly 1,000 legal professionals, including 500+ attorneys, carries out legal work for the City of Los Angeles at her direction and under her supervision. She is the first female City Attorney in L.A. history.