The judge questioned why federal agencies insist that grant recipients certify they won't use funding for DEI initiatives if, as a Justice Department lawyer argued, it entails nothing beyond adherence to longstanding anti-discrimination laws. (CN) — A group of cities and counties on Tuesday asked a federal judge in San Francisco to issue a preliminary injunction against what they say are “vague and unauthorized” conditions the Trump administration has imposed on recipients of federal housing, transportation and other grants. District Judge Richard Seeborg, a Barack Obama appointee, found the coalition was likely to succeed on some of its claims.) Other local governments have brought similar challenges to the Trump administration’ use of federal grant programs to coerce them into supporting the president’s policies or the downright termination of federal grants without proper explanation or review. “They have endeavored to work cooperatively with federal agencies to administer these programs, but the lawful and predictable administration of these grants has now been upended.”