Organizations sue Justice Department to reverse hundreds of grant cancellations

Five organizations that had grants terminated by the Justice Department in April are suing the department and Attorney General Pam Bondi calling the cancellations unconstitutional and asking that the money be reinstated.

The lawsuit, filed late Wednesday by the Vera Institute of Justice, the Center for Children & Youth Justice, Chinese for Affirmative Action, FORCE Detroit and Health Resources in Action, asks a federal judge in Washington District Court to “declare unlawful, vacate and set aside” the cancellations that were sent to more than 360 awardees ending grants worth nearly $820 million midstream.

The lawsuit filed by the Democracy Forward Foundation and the Perry Law firm asks for class action status and also names the Office of Justice Programs and Maureen Henneberg, the acting head of that office, as defendants.

The lawsuit argues that the grant terminations did not allow due process to the organizations, lacked sufficient clarity, and that Henneberg’s office lacked “constitutional, statutory, and regulatory authority” to terminate the grants. The lawyers also argue that the move violated the constitutional separation of powers clause that gives Congress appropriation powers.

The lawsuit notes that all the grant recipients that had money rescinded received the same form letter announcing the cancellation, with identical words saying the grant programs no longer met the agency’s priorities.

Lawyers argue in the lawsuit that the new agency priorities noted in the form letter are not articulated in policy or law, and that federal regulations do not allow for cancellations when the agency’s priorities change “post-award.” They said the rule only allows for cancellations of grants that no longer meet the agency’s goals as stated when the grants were awarded.

The lawsuit says the Office of Justice Programs “is permitted to terminate an award based on agency priorities only if that basis for termination was specifically permitted by the terms and conditions of the award.” That did not happen, it argues.

A spokesperson for the Justice Department did not return a message seeking comment on the lawsuit Thursday.

Representatives from Vera said the nonprofit received notice on April 4 that five awards worth more than $7 million were being cancelled. The other named plaintiffs, along with hundreds of other groups, received identical notices on April 22 that they should cease any activities under the grants and that they would lose access to the federal funding system.

The grants cover a wide swath of programing across the Justice Department. Among other goals, they are for community violence intervention work, combatting hate crimes, providing assistance to crime survivors and survivors of domestic or sexual abuse, improving juvenile justice, and training for law enforcement agencies.

The lawsuit says none of the organizations had previously had grants terminated and many had received grants for various programs under both Democratic and Republican presidential administrations.

Many of the organizations that lost the federal money said the unexpected cancellations mid-grant had meant layoffs, program closures and loss of community partnerships. In addition to staying the cancellations and reinstating the awards, lawyers also ask a judge to require state reports every 30 days to ensure compliance.

“The sudden and unlawful termination of these public safety grants makes neighborhoods everywhere less safe and does irreparable harm to communities across the country,” said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward.