Gov. Josh Shapiro has joined two lawsuits against President Donald Trump in response to the Trump administration’s decision to cut federal funding to Pennsylvania and other states.
The first suit was filed in response to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) decision to cut funding to so-called “sanctuary cities,” a label Trump has used to describe cities that limit their cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Trump has long promised to cut federal funding to these cities, and recently, he directed DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to freeze money from two grants that provide money to prevent terrorist attacks in cities.
Shapiro is joining the lawsuit alongside 11 other states and the District of Columbia because Philadelphia is a sanctuary city. Pennsylvania’s largest city is set to lose over $18 million in emergency preparedness funding. Shapiro criticized the move as harmful to the safety of Philadelphians. Additionally, Philadelphia is planning to host a slate of major events next year for America’s 250th anniversary and will need funding to assure the safety of all visitors, per Shapiro.
The lawsuit alleges that the cutting of grants for sanctuary cities only is an unfair punishment against political enemies of the president and thus unconstitutional. A spokesperson from the DHS rebuked this claim. “Cities and states who break the law and prevent us from arresting criminal illegal aliens should not receive federal funding,” Tricia McLaughlin, assistant DHS secretary for public affairs, said.
The second lawsuit, featuring Pennsylvania, 24 other states and Washington D.C., was filed in response to the ongoing government shutdown. On Nov. 1, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, often called SNAP and formerly Food Stamps, ran out of funding. Millions of Americans rely on SNAP payments to afford food. The states filing the lawsuit are asking the court to order the Department of Agriculture, which manages SNAP, to continue to fund the assistance program by all means necessary, including contingency funds.
Pennsylvania and the other states allege the cutoff of SNAP payments unlawfully deprives Americans of essential benefits and unfairly burdens state governments.
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) has argued it has neither the authority nor the ability to fulfill the payments. A federal judge in Rhode Island, however, disagreed, and on Oct. 31, he ruled that the USDA must tap the contingency funds identified by Pennsylvania and the other states.
Despite initial resistance from the administration, SNAP payments could be coming. “President Trump wants to make sure that people get their food benefits,” Scott Bessent, Secretary of the Treasury, told CNN. Still, states like Pennsylvania are taking their own action. Shapiro recently made a disaster declaration in the commonwealth, which freed up funds to aid food insecure residents who have been unable to purchase food without the SNAP benefits.
Together, these two lawsuits constitute the latest blows between the Republican Trump and Democrat-led states like Pennsylvania. Amidst the government shutdown, the DHS lawsuit shows traditional partisan fights are still being held between Trump and his opponents. Yet, the shutdown compounds all matters. “The Trump administration is deliberately causing pain to people in need, people who rely on food assistance,” Austin Davis, Pennsylvania’s Democratic Lt. Governor, said during a briefing. The Trump administration points all blame at Democrats in the Senate who refuse to reopen the government without a restoration of Obama-era healthcare programs. As states like Pennsylvania recognize, with a deadlocked Congress, the courts may be the only avenue for relief for millions of American citizens.
