States sue over Trump administration's coercive disaster-aid conditions

A coalition of 25 Democratic attorneys general led by California’s Rob Bonta filed a federal lawsuit in Rhode Island alleging DHS and FEMA unlawfully conditioned more than $740 million in disaster-preparedness and counter-terrorism grants to push the White House’s political priorities, including voter-citizenship verification and post-election audits, and threatened to withhold funds or cancel grants for not aligning with agency goals, targeting ICE cooperation; the suit follows earlier challenges to similar grant terms, while FEMA defends the measures as protecting election security and infrastructure.