Republican bill would put ‘anarchist jurisdictions’ on notice, threaten federal funding
A Senate Republican wants to slash federal funding to ‘anarchist jurisdictions’ that run afoul of President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda in the wake of the anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles.
Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., plans to introduce the Stop Anarchists from Endangering (SAFE) Cities Act, which would put cities that push back against the Trump administration’s immigration plan in danger of losing federal funding.
Sheehy’s bill would direct Attorney General Pam Bondi to identify and publish a list of anarchist jurisdictions. If a city is on the list, their funding would be put in jeopardy.
From there, Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought Office would issue guidance to the heads of various federal agencies to restrict anarchist jurisdictions’ eligibility to receive federal grants, according to the bill text.
‘It’s not too much for Americans to ask that their local governments put the safety of their people first, but too often, far-left public officials allow violent criminals to wreak havoc on families, communities, and businesses with no consequence,’ Sheehy said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
‘Ensuring taxpayer dollars go to communities who uphold the law and keep their citizens safe is America First common sense,’ he continued.
The push comes on the heels of anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles, where Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass pushed back against the Trump administration’s deportation operations. In the aftermath of the riots the Trump administration earlier this month filed a lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles, where it alleged that the city’s policies interfere with federal immigration authorities from doing their jobs.
And last month, a companion to the bill was introduced in the House by Rep. Tony Wied, R-Wis.
‘I’m grateful to Sen. Sheehy for standing with me and declaring that we will no longer allow radical elected officials to be rewarded for putting violent extremists over law-abiding citizens,’ Wied said in a statement to Fox News Digital. ‘They must either restore the rule of law in their communities or lose their federal funding. They can’t have both.’
The bill seeks to codify a memo Trump authorized during his first term on the heels of unrest in major cities throughout the country following the death of George Floyd.
At the time, Trump argued that his ‘administration will not allow federal tax dollars to fund cities that allow themselves to deteriorate into lawless zones.’
He ordered then-Attorney General William Barr in September 2020 to have the DOJ publish a list that identified state and local jurisdictions that have ‘permitted violence and the destruction of property to persist and have refused to undertake reasonable measures to counteract these criminal activities.’
Anarchist jurisdictions would make the list if they forbid law enforcement from intervening to restore order, withdraw law enforcement from an area where they were lawfully entitled to be, defund the police or refuse law enforcement aid from the federal government, and would be subject to losing federal grant funding.
