'Don't f*** with Fresno': City leaders react to winning federal lawsuit

FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A justice has ruled successful favour of the City of Fresno successful its lawsuit against the national government.

“The connection is clear. Don’t f*** with Fresno,” Fresno City Councilmember Nick Richardson said.

Fresno metropolis officials issued a crisp informing Wednesday aft winning that preliminary injunction.

“I don't attraction if it's Sacramento oregon it's Washington, D.C., who comes down present to effort to enactment their hands successful Fresno's oatmeal. It's not going to happen,” Richardson said.

Several cities filed that lawsuit in August aft the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Transportation, and Department of Health and Human Services threatened to revoke assistance dollars.

“There was a vague petition oregon a request to destruct thing that had thing to bash with diversity, equity, and inclusion,” Fresno City Attorney Andrew Janz said.

The agencies requested this successful airy of President Donald Trump’s enforcement bid requiring section governments to region each DEI connection from their nationalist documents.

The bid makes national assistance dollars conditional connected a city’s cooperation.

Janz says if Fresno chose not to comply, they would suffer much than $250 cardinal successful national grants – overmuch of which they person already spent connected affordable housing, nationalist safety, and airdrome enlargement contracts.

“We’re not giving those dollars back,” Fresno City Councilmember Mike Karbassi said.

However, Karbassi says if they complied with the national government’s request, they would interruption authorities requirements, which would jeopardize their authorities assistance dollars.

So, they had to marque what they telephone an intolerable choice.

“Either we comply with the orders that astir apt were unconstitutional and enactment our unit astatine superior ineligible jeopardy, which we can't bash arsenic employers, oregon we determine to nonstop the wealth back, which is wholly irresponsible due to the fact that we qualified for each azygous dollar we received,” Karbassi said.

The justice yet sided with the metropolis Tuesday, saying national agencies cannot enforce “unauthorized and vague conditions connected their assistance funding.”

Karbassi says this is not a governmental onslaught against the president; this is astir the 10th Amendment.

“There's a separation of powers,” Karbassi said. “Congress has their relation and they due things. And immoderate president can't usage an enforcement bid to say, ‘Well, I don't similar that. I'm going to enforce connected my ain antithetic rules.’”

Their combat whitethorn not beryllium over, though.

The national authorities has 30 days to entreaty the judge’s decision.

Karbassi says they won’t backmost down.