NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The city of Nashville is joining a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its federal funding freeze for critical programs.
Legal action is being taken by a group of nonprofit organizations and cities across the country. In Nashville, federal funding that's tied to transit and infrastructure is at risk.
The lawsuit, filed out of South Carolina, challenges the halt on funding for affordable housing, air pollution monitoring, and food access initiatives. Those involved argue the freeze is disrupting vital projects and jeopardizing jobs and local investments.
Here in Music City, Nashville Director of Law Wally Dietz said the city is asking for the funds to be released for projects aimed at improving transportation and road safety.
In the lawsuit, two projects are mentioned that could come to a halt due to a possible lack of federal grants including efforts to expand electric car charging stations across the city and install new bikeways in East Nashville.
"For more than two-hundred years, local, state, and federal governments have reliably worked together to implement programs that benefit people all over America," said Dietz. "Metro Nashville filed this suit because the constitutional separation of powers must be maintained. No President, much less a non-federal employee at a fictional agency, has the authority to freeze funds appropriated by Congress. This lawsuit asks that the federal grant funding approved by Congress and awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation for projects in Nashville to connect our residents, make moving through our city easier, and our roadways safer be delivered to Nashville, as promised."
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