Wilsonville Joins Multi-Jurisdictional Lawsuit Over Unlawful Federal Grant Conditions
May 29, 2025 — Wilsonville has joined a coalition of local governments and transit authorities from around the country in a federal lawsuit that is challenging the Trump administration’s unlawful action to impose new conditions on previously awarded federal grants without approval from Congress.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington against the Trump administration’s Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Transportation (DOT), challenges the administration’s addition of unlawful conditions placed on jurisdictions in order to receive federal funding for public transit and homelessness assistance, putting critical services for residents at risk.
The lawsuit states that new funding stipulations added by the heads of federal agencies are unconstitutional and an overreach by the executive branch, which does not have the authority to change federal grant conditions without the explicit approval of Congress.
Despite this, the administration has added several unlawful conditions to DOT’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Master Agreement, which covers grants awarded to Wilsonville, through its South Metro Area Regional Transit (SMART) department, to provide transit operations for residents, employees, and visitors.
“We have a duty to protect these important services for the many community members who utilize SMART’s services,” Wilsonville City Manager Bryan Cosgrove said. “That is why we joined other jurisdictions from around the country — to protect our transit services and Congressionally-approved processes and to prevent the bullying of local governments into compliance with a political agenda at the expense of delivering critical services.”
Apart from violating federal law, the new requirements would force Wilsonville and other local governments to make legal promises that conflict with local and state laws, making it difficult to serve communities. These include conditions related to immigration status; health care; and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The lawsuit, joined by Wilsonville on May 21, resists efforts to coerce local governments into accepting unlawful grant conditions. For example, if Wilsonville agreed to the administration’s demands to assist federal immigration enforcement, it would face civil liabilities under state law or else violate the federal terms, which could make the City liable to the federal government for three times the amount of the grant — further endangering critical services for the Wilsonville community.
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