Federal Appeals Court Affirms Injunction Against HUD and DOT Grant Conditions

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals largely affirmed a lower court's injunction against conditions imposed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Department of Transportation (DOT) on federal grants. These conditions required local governments to certify compliance with federal anti-discrimination law, acknowledge False Claims Act materiality, and decline to use funds to promote "gender ideology," "elective abortions," or "illegal immigration." The court agreed that many conditions exceeded agency authority, but remanded to narrow the injunction regarding anti-discrimination compliance.