Publication
District of Oregon Blocks DHS from Imposing Bans on “Promoting DEI” or “Gender Ideology” as Conditions to Disaster Relief Grants
In a matter with profound implications during fire season, the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon has enjoined the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from conditioning federal emergency management funds on agreeing not to promote “DEI” or “gender ideology.”
In City of Salem v. Mullin, Case No. 6:26-cv-01340-MC, linked here, the City of Salem, Oregon, sued DHS for imposing unlawful conditions on federal funds. DHS had updated its standard grant terms to require recipients of Public Assistance, Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, and Emergency Management Performance Grant funds to certify that they do not operate programs “promoting DEI” or “gender ideology,” to comply broadly with presidential executive orders, and to accept a termination-for-convenience clause tied to shifting “agency priorities.” Non-compliance could trigger False Claims Act liability and grant termination.
The district court found that Salem demonstrated a strong likelihood of success on its claims that the conditions violate separation of powers, the Spending Clause, and the Administrative Procedure Act. The court held that DHS lacked congressional authority to impose the conditions, that the terms were impermissibly vague, and that the conditions bore no reasonable relationship to the disaster relief purposes of the underlying grant programs. The court also found the conditions arbitrary and capricious because DHS failed to consider grantees’ serious reliance interests.
State, local, tribal, and territorial governments that receive or seek DHS disaster relief funding, or other federal funding, should monitor this ruling and related litigation nationwide, and consult counsel versed in constitutional and administrative law. More broadly, any entity or organization facing similar grant conditions may have grounds to challenge them.
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