Nonprofits Sue DOJ Over Terminated $820M Grants/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ Five nonprofits are suing the Department of Justice and Attorney General Pam Bondi over the abrupt cancellation of over $820 million in grants. The lawsuit seeks to reverse the decision, alleging constitutional and procedural violations.
DOJ Grant Cancellations Lawsuit: Quick Looks
- Who’s suing: Vera Institute of Justice, Center for Children & Youth Justice, Chinese for Affirmative Action, FORCE Detroit, and Health Resources in Action.
- What’s being challenged: Cancellation of 360+ federal grants worth nearly $820 million.
- Legal claim: Groups allege the terminations violate constitutional rights and due process.
- Filed in: Federal court in Washington, D.C., with class-action status sought.
- Accused officials: Attorney General Pam Bondi and acting OJP chief Maureen Henneberg.
- Main argument: DOJ lacked authority to cancel awarded grants based on vague “priority shifts.”
- Impacted programs: Grants supported anti-violence, hate crime prevention, juvenile justice, and survivor services.
- Outcome sought: Reinstate grants, halt cancellations, and monitor DOJ compliance with court orders.
- Financial fallout: Cancellations led to layoffs, halted programming, and broken community partnerships.
- Next steps: Awaiting court ruling; DOJ declined to comment on active litigation.
Deep Look: Nonprofits Sue DOJ Over Abrupt Cancellation of $820M in Grants
Five nonprofit organizations have filed a sweeping federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice and Attorney General Pam Bondi, seeking to reverse the department’s sudden cancellation of more than $820 million in public safety grants. The lawsuit, filed late Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., claims the mass terminations were unconstitutional and illegally executed without due process.
Who’s Behind the Lawsuit?
The plaintiffs — the Vera Institute of Justice, Center for Children & Youth Justice, Chinese for Affirmative Action, FORCE Detroit, and Health Resources in Action — allege the DOJ overstepped its authority by terminating hundreds of active grant agreements without clear justification.
Filed with support from the Democracy Forward Foundation and the Perry Law Firm, the suit also seeks class-action status to include over 360 organizations affected by the abrupt cancellation notices issued in April.
Constitutional Claims at the Core
The lawsuit argues that the DOJ’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) lacked the constitutional, statutory, and regulatory authority to cancel awarded grants midstream. Specifically, the plaintiffs say the move violated:
- Due process protections, by offering no opportunity for grantees to respond;
- Separation of powers, by circumventing Congress’s exclusive authority over federal spending;
- Administrative procedures, which allow cancellation only under specific conditions defined at the time of award.
All recipients reportedly received identical letters from the DOJ, stating their programs “no longer aligned with agency priorities” — without further clarification or a case-by-case review.
Legal Teams Allege Flawed Justification
Plaintiffs argue that federal law permits the DOJ to cancel funding only if the grantee fails to meet original requirements — not simply due to a change in political leadership or agency direction.
“The Office of Justice Programs is permitted to terminate an award based on agency priorities only if that basis was specifically permitted by the terms and conditions of the award,” the complaint reads. “That did not happen here.”
The mass cancellation swept away funding for a range of vital initiatives, including:
- Community violence prevention programs
- Anti-hate crime efforts
- Services for survivors of sexual and domestic violence
- Juvenile justice reforms
- Law enforcement training programs
Vera Institute of Justice said five of its grants, totaling over $7 million, were terminated on April 4. Hundreds of other organizations received near-identical notices on April 22, ordering them to cease all activity and blocking access to federal funding systems.
Fallout: Layoffs, Shutdowns, and Legal Action
The cancellation led to immediate consequences: staff layoffs, stalled programs, severed partnerships, and loss of essential community services across the country. Some groups had operated under DOJ grants for decades, under both Republican and Democratic administrations.
“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.
The lawsuit asks the court to immediately block the cancellations, reinstate all impacted grants, and mandate 30-day progress reports to ensure DOJ compliance with any future orders.
DOJ Response
As of Thursday, the Department of Justice has not issued a public statement on the lawsuit and declined to comment on pending litigation.
Whether the federal judge will halt the DOJ’s sweeping grant termination effort remains to be seen — but the case marks a major legal challenge to the Trump administration’s restructuring of federal grant priorities.
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