Fresno wins temporary restraining order against members of Trump Administration

FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – The City of Fresno won its temporary restraining order against members of the Trump administration over withheld grant funding, the city’s attorney announced Tuesday.

Chief Judge Richard Seeborg issued a temporary restraining order against the Trump Administration, finding in part that “the City has a likelihood of success on the merits.”

The City of Fresno filed a joint lawsuit with many other cities and counties against members of the Trump Administration after receiving an email from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Aug. 18.

In the email, the city was being asked to remove the words “equity, environmental justice, and transgender” from its 2025 Consolidated Plan/Action Plan.

“The Administration placed the City and its taxpayers in an impossible position:
either violate the Constitution, accept illegal conditions unauthorized by Congress, and
place City staff in legal jeopardy; or forfeit hundreds of millions of dollars of federal grants
already appropriated by Congress,” said Fresno City Attorney Andrew Janz.

Officials said that forgoing the funds would have been “devastating” to the city’s budget, safety and the local infrastructure.