An Obama-appointed federal judge has sided with the Department of Justice (DOJ) in a closely watched legal dispute.
The judge ruled that the Biden-era practice of funding violence prevention through nonprofit organizations can be lawfully replaced with a law enforcement–centered model backed by the Trump administration.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta denied a request from five liberal-leaning organizations that sought to block the DOJ from canceling over $800 million in previously awarded grants.
The decision, handed down Wednesday, marks a significant legal win for the administration as it accelerates efforts to reorient federal crime prevention resources.
In his opinion, Mehta acknowledged the likely hardship the funding cuts would cause but said the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate any constitutional violation or legal standing to demand court intervention.
“The consequences may be regrettable, but the legal threshold for an injunction has not been met,” he wrote.
The five plaintiff groups, represented by attorneys from the Democracy Forward Foundation and Perry Law, argued that the DOJ’s decision violated principles of due process and improperly bypassed Congress’s control over federal spending.
They claimed that the move had already forced several programs to shut down and resulted in widespread layoffs.
DOJ lawyers pushed back,