More than $350 million for fire departments, port security, counterterrorism and wildfire recovery are at risk
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (October 1, 2025) — San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu, Santa Clara County Counsel Tony LoPresti, Oakland City Attorney Ryan Richardson and other local government leaders announced today that 29 local governments filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s attempt to impose unlawful and unrelated conditions on federal emergency and disaster preparedness grant funds. The conditions would force local governments to adopt the Administration’s political agenda or risk losing critical funding.
The lawsuit, led by San Francisco and the County of Santa Clara County, filed in federal court in California, centers on over $350 million in grants administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). These funds help communities safeguard residents — more than 30 million people — through fire department staffing, port and transit security, counterterrorism, and hazard mitigation projects like wildfire and flood prevention. The lawsuit asks the court to stop DHS and FEMA from using life-saving funds as leverage for unrelated political agendas.
The Administration is demanding that local governments participate in its immigration enforcement policies and abandon lawful diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives as a condition of funding. These conditions are unconstitutional and exceed the executive’s authority, falling far outside what Congress authorized.
“Emergency management is the backbone of safe and resilient communities, and threatening its funding puts real lives at risk,” said San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu. “This funding means faster emergency response times, stronger regional coordination, and better protection for our residents during disasters and terrorist attacks. The federal government’s politically motivated grant conditions demonstrate both a disregard for our Constitution and the well-being of our residents.”
“For almost 75 years, Congress has been clear that one of the Federal Government’s core functions is to provide resources and support to state and local governments to ensure that they are prepared to respond to emergencies and disasters,” said Santa Clara County Counsel Tony LoPresti. “This Federal Administration is now unlawfully changing course, imposing unconstitutional conditions on critical grant funding that helps local governments hire first responders, fund search and rescue operations, retrofit facilities, and train employees in disaster response. Governments shouldn’t have to pass a political litmus test to be able to care for their communities.”
“The City of Oakland joined this lawsuit in order to protect $21 million in funding for our fire department,” said Oakland City Attorney Ryan Richardson. “Oakland’s ability to respond to fires and other emergencies is quite literally a matter of life and death, for our residents and for the residents of our neighboring cities. My fellow Oaklanders and I pay our federal taxes, and we expect our fair share of those resources to come back to our community. We ask a lot of our first responders. They put themselves in harm’s way to protect us. If they can be called upon to fight fires, we will certainly fight to protect the resources that they need and deserve.”
“The Trump administration is trying to force governments to abandon policies that keep people safe,” said Jill Habig, founder and CEO of Public Rights Project. “Tying federal safety and security funding to these demands is both coercive and dangerous. These funds are life-saving resources that communities rely on to prepare for and recover from wildfires, earthquakes, terrorism and other crises.”
The stakes are high in communities across the country. San Francisco risks losing over $3 million to enhance security and prevent terrorist incidents on public transportation. In Marin County, California, the county is counting on $23 million to help mitigate flood risk for roughly 4,000 residents. In Los Angeles, California, $140 million in federal grants is earmarked for wildfire recovery — rebuilding communities, strengthening water infrastructure, and launching a mobile early warning system for evacuations. In Petaluma, California, federal funds are critical for protecting seniors in mobile home parks along the Petaluma River, ensuring vulnerable elders aren’t left in floodwaters or wildfire danger. Santa Clara County is relying on $3.6 million — nearly 43% of the County’s emergency management budget — to mitigate risk and prepare for terrorism, disasters, and upcoming global events like Super Bowl LX and the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Without these funds, communities will be forced to divert scarce resources from other essential services, delay projects, or cancel them entirely.
The City and County of San Francisco and the County of Santa Clara are leading the lawsuit, and Public Rights Project is representing the additional plaintiffs. The plaintiffs are:
- Alameda, CA
- Bellingham, WA
- Berkeley, CA
- City and County of San Francisco, CA
- Culver City, CA
- King County, WA
- Los Angeles, CA
- Los Angeles County, CA
- Los Angeles County Consolidated Fire Protection District, CA
- Marin County, CA
- Oakland, CA
- Palo Alto, CA
- Pasadena, CA
- Petaluma, CA
- Pierce County, WA
- Sacramento, CA
- San Diego, CA
- San Diego County, CA
- San Jose, CA
- San Mateo County, CA
- Santa Clara County, CA
- Santa Monica, CA
- Santa Rosa, CA
- Snohomish County, WA
- Sonoma County, CA
- Sonoma County Community Development Commission, CA
- Sonoma County Water Agency, CA
- Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District, CA
- Tucson, AZ
The case is County of Santa Clara, et al., v. Noem, et al., U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, 3:25-cv-08330. The complaint can be found here.
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