FRESNO, Calif. — A federal judge has sided with the City of Fresno in a courtroom fight against the Trump administration to keep more than $250 million in federal funds that city officials say had already been guaranteed.

Fresno and several U.S. cities in August sued several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, after they threatened to withhold hundreds of millions in federal grants unless they removed language around gender and diversity from city plans.

The directives by federal agencies stemmed from an executive order by President Donald Trump targeting DEI language in government. Fresno and other cities noted the imperiled funds had already been approved by Congress and argued in a complaint that the federal government’s demands were vague and inconsistent.

Judge Richard Seeborg issued a preliminary injunction on Tuesday, ruling that the city gets to keep the funds. Some of those funds have already been spent on the expansion at Fresno Yosemite International Airport and other projects, City Council President Mike Karbassi said Wednesday.

“This ruling was a huge win for local government,” Karbassi said. “The fact of the matter is that Congress, which is a separate branch of government, said we’re going to send dollars back to our local communities to ensure that they can have economic development and deal with the housing crises we are facing across this country.”

Fresno risked losing several federal grants, including $11.7 million from HUD, more than $100 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation and $2.2 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The city joined the lawsuit after HUD rejected its Community Development Block Grant unless the city removed all references to “equity,” “environmental justice” and transgender people in its grant plan.

Judge grants Fresno a restraining order against Trump in fight over ‘woke’ terms

HUD flagged phrases in the plans — such as, “emergency shelter for all genders and their dependent children who are fleeing domestic violence” — and said the city was prohibited from using the grant money to “promote gender ideology,” as defined in Trump’s executive order.

Local leaders faced ‘impossible choice’

Karbassi said the federal government’s demands placed Fresno with an “impossible choice.”

“Either we comply with the orders that probably were unconstitutional and put our staff in serious legal jeopardy — which we can’t do as employers — or we decide to send the money back, which is completely irresponsible because we qualified for every single dollar we received,” Karbassi said.

Tuesday’s ruling found that several executive orders coming from the White House were vague and that the executive branch can’t undo decisions by Congress to award the grants, City Attorney Andrew Janz said.

“The message is clear — don’t f--- with Fresno,” Councilmember Nick Richardson said of Tuesday's ruling.

What does the win mean for Fresno?

The preliminary injunction means that the federal government is not allowed to impose these grant conditions on the City of Fresno and the other municipalities involved in the lawsuit, Karbassi said.

Fresno Yosemite International Airport risked losing millions in grants allocated for improvements.

With the funds secured, the Fresno airport will proceed with its expansion and the planning department will continue its affordable housing plans without having to divert funds from other areas, Janz said.

“Anybody who uses Fresno’s airport, we’re standing strong, we’ve got it, we’re leading from the front, your airport’s not going anywhere,” Richardson said.

The U.S. Department of Justice has 30 days to appeal the ruling, and based on Tuesday’s hearing, it seems likely, Janz said.

“We’re confident that if it is appealed, and if it moves up, that court will also side with local communities like Fresno,” Karbassi said.

_____

©2025 The Fresno Bee. Visit fresnobee.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.