Overview

• U.S. District Judge Mary S. McElroy in Rhode Island issued a temporary restraining order preserving roughly $233 million in disputed Homeland Security Grant Program funds for a coalition of states and the District of Columbia.
• Manhattan U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan separately blocked a proposed $33.8–$34 million reduction to the MTA’s transit‑security grant, warning it would force cutbacks in policing and counterterrorism activities.
• The late changes cut plaintiffs’ expected HSGP awards from about $459 million to $226 million, with New York’s allocation reduced roughly 86–87% to about $30 million, according to state filings.
• Judge McElroy criticized the process as “slapdash” and likely unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act, noting the timing at the federal fiscal year’s end.
• DHS and FEMA have offered little public rationale beyond notes such as “Adjusted per DHS directive” and references to a formula, while the states contend the shifts flout statutory risk‑based criteria and punish so‑called sanctuary jurisdictions.