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Members of the Portland City Council held a special executive session last Wednesday to discuss the threat of losing $387 million in active grants from the federal government if the city doesn’t comply with new mandates from the Trump administration to eliminate DEI-related programs.
President Donald Trump is requiring that cities comply with new terms and conditions for federal grants. Most crucially, a city cannot receive federal grant funds if they have programs that are race or gender-based.
While it’s unclear just how many Portland programs that may apply to, it puts the city in an uneasy position—it is just weeks away from having to sign a form that confirms that it’s complying with Trump’s new requirements in order to unlock funding.
If the city claims it has no DEI-based programs, but the feds find it does? Whoever signs the paper could be subject to criminal prosecution, the Trump Administration has said.
While executive sessions are held out of public view, Mayor Keith Wilson today laid out some of the stakes the council discussed last week.
“If lost, the funds that keep our roads safe and our neighbors housed will be sharply felt,” Wilson said in a statement on Monday afternoon. “The consequences for accepting grants without compliance are severe, including the possibility of both civil and criminal penalties against anyone who signs for the funds.”
In the next few weeks, City Council and Wilson must consider the possibilities, like scrubbing diversity, equity and inclusion language from city code. Other local governments, including Washington County and the Port of Portland, have already taken that step to secure their federal funding.
Wilson said that the city must soon “reevaluate many of our leading initiatives and programs, or forgo the federal funding that makes many critical programs and services possible.” He added: “Together, we must show that our commitment and resilience remain more powerful than any executive order forced upon us from afar, and that our values remain the foundation on which we will repair, restore, and revitalize Portland.”
City Administrator Mike Jordan said in a statement last week that the road ahead is uncertain, as federal grants are an essential component of Portland’s funding.
“We do not know what choices will be made, nor the full extent of how any of them may ripple through our workplace or our communities,” Jordan wrote. “We will continue to share information as it becomes available and do our best to help Portlanders understand the tradeoffs.”
According to the statement, more than 90% of federal grants go to Portland’s transportation and housing projects.
“Losing these grants would be a major blow to the Portlanders who depend on them,” said Jordan.
