What’s at stake:

On the second-to-last day to file an appeal, the U.S. DOJ is asking the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to review a federal lawsuit filed against the Trump administration by 11 local jurisdictions, including Fresno.

The Trump administration isn’t done with its fight with Fresno and others over federal funding.

On Friday morning, the U.S. Department of Justice appealed a preliminary injunction blocking federal agencies from stripping federal funding for local governments, including the City of Fresno. The funding was threatened after federal agencies determined local jurisdictions weren’t following President Donald Trump’s executive orders attacking diversity programs. 

Now it comes down to whether the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will entertain the DOJ’s request for further review — which came through just one day before the 60-day deadline to appeal. 

Back in September, Judge Richard Seeborg of the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California granted Fresno and a number of other local jurisdictions temporary relief from federal agencies seeking to pull funding for not following Trump’s executive orders. 

However, only Congress has power over federal funding and grants, not the Trump administration, federal agencies or executive orders. 

Seeborg’s injunction was an indication that the 11 jurisdictions jointly suing the federal government had merits to their concern about the wellbeing of not only major projects reliant on federal funding, but also their local communities, too. 

The U.S. DOJ did not respond to Fresnoland’s request for comment. 

Neither did Fresno City Attorney Andrew Janz. 

It’s not unreasonable to say that the City of Fresno is front and center in this federal lawsuit. It’s the first named plaintiff in the case, hence it’s in the lawsuit’s name: City of Fresno, et. al. v. Scott Turner, et. al. 

The full list of plaintiffs in the lawsuit include the following local governments and agencies:

Fresno (California)

Eureka (California)

Alameda (California)

South Lake Tahoe (California)

Redwood City (California)

Sacramento County (California)

Marin County (California)

San Diego County (California)

Saint Paul (Minnesota)

Monroe County (New York)

Monroe County Airport Authority (New York)

Back in September, city leaders celebrated Seeborg granting a preliminary injunction, favoring the plaintiffs in the case. Janz said at a news conference back then that suing the federal government was a last resort, but had to be done to avoid having to comply with “unconstitutional and illegal terms” sent down by the Trump administration. 

Two months ago, Janz said it’s likely for the DOJ to file an appeal.

At the same news conference, Councilmember Nick Richardson also boldly said the city’s win in court was a message against messing with Fresno — which a comment made using an expletive seldom spoken at official news conferences at Fresno City Hall. 

The stakes for Fresno appear high. The Fresno Yosemite International Airport depends on more than $150 million in federal grants for capital and infrastructure projects.

The city is also relying on more than $100 million in federal transportation grants, an annual $11.7 million in housing-related grants and $2.2 million in environmental safety grants, according to court filings.

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