Obama-Appointed Judge Backs Trump DOJ in Grant Funding Clash

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, asserting that the plaintiffs’ claims amounted to a contract dispute—not a constitutional crisis. 

They emphasized that while the list of grant recipients may have changed, federal support for anti-violence work would continue through alternative avenues, such as city and state agencies. 

The department also argued that emergency judicial intervention wasn’t appropriate, pointing out that funding decisions remain under executive discretion.

This legal dispute centers on an April DOJ announcement that it would pull funding from hundreds of community nonprofits and redirect those resources to local governments. 

The department said the pivot was intended to more directly support law enforcement in tackling organized crime, human trafficking and other violent offenses., according to Trending Politics.

Wednesday’s ruling is the third courtroom victory for President Trump’s DOJ in a matter of weeks. 

It follows a pair of major Supreme Court decisions: one upholding mass federal layoffs tied to agency restructuring and another limiting lower courts’ ability to block executive actions with nationwide injunctions.

These decisions come as President Trump continues to assert broader control over the federal bureaucracy. 

In a separate legal dispute last month, a judge upheld his authority to deploy 4,000 National Guard troops to the southern border despite pushback from California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Though the Supreme Court has placed a temporary hold on some elements of the administration’s layoff plans, courts have largely favored Trump’s vision of a more centralized and assertive executive branch.

The decision to pull funding from liberal nonprofits has sparked outrage among progressive advocates, but the DOJ’s successful defense in court underscores the administration’s determination to shift away from community-based grantmaking in favor of direct federal enforcement strategies, according to TP.

Judge Mehta’s ruling supports the legal basis for that shift, indicating that the DOJ under President Trump is able to proceed despite challenges from political opponents and advocacy groups.

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