Nonprofit groups sue US Agriculture Department over rules on grants

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON, July 30 (Reuters) – Five nonprofit organizations sued the U.S. Agriculture Department on Thursday over grant conditions they say restrict speech in support of ​diversity initiatives and immigration rights.

Here are details:

• The lawsuit ‌filed in a federal court in Seattle seeks to vacate the conditions put forward by the Trump administration for those grants, according to the filing.

• The plaintiffs in Thursday’s lawsuit included Agroecology Commons, Oregon ‌Farm ​Corps, Syracuse-Onondaga Food Systems Alliance, Third Sector ⁠New England, and the ⁠Washington Farmland Trust.

• The lawsuit objected to a memo signed by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on December 31 on terms for issuing grants.

• Rollins said the Trump administration ​was taking action to eliminate “radical left ideology.”

• “The new terms and conditions include several provisions that impose vague and unprecedented ⁠substantive requirements on USDA grantees by ⁠mandating that grantees follow the Trump Administration’s position ​on issues of social policy, including on issues of race ​and diversity, gender identity, and immigration,” the lawsuit said.

• ‌The Agriculture Department did not respond to a request for comment. Its website says it distributed over $145 billion through 287 programs in FY 2025.

• Trump has attempted to restrict grants ⁠and federal funds for nonprofit groups and educational institutions over many issues.

• These include diversity programs, pro-Palestinian protests against U.S. ally Israel’s ⁠assault on Gaza, ‌transgender policies and climate programs.

• Trump has ⁠particularly cracked down on diversity programs, arguing ​they are ‌anti-merit and discriminate against white people and ​men.

• Civil ⁠rights groups say such programs help marginalized groups like women, the LGBT community and ethnic minorities by addressing systemic and generational inequities.

• Trump has also pursued an aggressive immigration crackdown widely condemned by rights groups.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing ​by Sanjeev Miglani)