Seattle protesters at a demonstration in July. (Getty Images)
President Joe Biden issued an executive order on Wednesday, rescinding the “anarchist jurisdiction” classification that the Trump administration imposed on Seattle, Portland and New York in 2020.
Local leaders react to Trump’s plan to withdraw federal funds from Seattle
Trump’s Justice Department had sought to distribute or withhold federal funds conditionally to these cities, claiming that their state and local leaders “prevented their own law enforcement agencies from doing their jobs.” This occurred in response to a series of clashes between protesters and police during the summer of 2020, in response to the death of George Floyd.
Seattle, New York and Portland later filed a joint lawsuit against the DOJ over the classification of “anarchist jurisdiction”, calling it “illegal abuse of federal power”. The then head of the United States Budget and Management Office, Russ Vought, justified the change at the time, claiming that the funding Trump sought to retain was part of “discretionary grant programs” and, as such, was not specifically intended by Congress to cities like Seattle.
That process will no longer advance in the wake of Biden’s decision on Wednesday to rescind his predecessor’s order.
“Our coalition’s comprehensive complaint achieved what it set out to do: stop the Trump Administration’s effort suddenly,” said Seattle city attorney Pete Holmes. “A small part of me would like to see our wretched former president lose again in court, but I would much rather see President Biden undo his predecessor’s will with a stroke of his pen. I am happy to have this absurdity erased from the decks, considering that my office has no lack of litigation to manage, from the eviction moratorium to the payment of risk to the frontline workers. “
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan also responded on Wednesday, saying the city “no longer needs to face the insanity of a president who rules over Twitter or political threats”.
“President Trump’s baseless lawsuits targeted our city for defending immigrants, civil rights and democracy while he divided our country with hatred,” said Durkan in a written statement. “Instead of trying to retain all federal funding from Seattle as in the previous administration, President Biden has proposed more support for cities to help our residents and small businesses at this unprecedented time.”