Federal judge blocks Trump administration from conditioning counterterrorism grants on election changes

U.S. District Judge Amir Ali ruled that FEMA cannot withhold 20% of anti-terrorism grants from states and local governments that do not adopt the administration's election administration requirements. The requirements included verifying voter citizenship against a federal database, moving toward hand-marked paper ballots, and auditing election results. Cities and counties in Texas, Ohio, and Tennessee sued, arguing FEMA lacked statutory authority to tie counterterrorism funding to election administration.