Trump's "election integrity" threat: Defunding state and local police

State and cities nationwide are rebelling against the White House's push to withhold millions of dollars in police and anti-terrorism funding unless they impose new voting rules.

Why it matters: President Trump's effort to impose election policies that he hasn't been able to get through Congress has now drawn two lawsuits from state and local governments that accuse the administration of threatening to defund the police unless Trump gets his way.

"They are trying to defund public safety and counterterrorism," Harris County (Texas) Attorney Abbie Kamin told Axios.

Harris County, which includes Houston, and the other jurisdictions stand to lose millions in public safety grants unless they impose the controversial voting rules Trump wants: a plan to transition to paper ballots, proof of citizenship verifications, mandatory hand-counted audits of 5% of all ballots, and more. (A separate part of Trump's "election integrity" push got a boost Monday when the Supreme Court lifted a block on his plan to use the Postal Service to help limit deliveries of mail-in ballots.

The plan still faces legal challenges.) Zoom in: Harris County joined Columbus, Ohio, Nashville, Tenn., and El Paso County, Texas, last week in suing the Department of Homeland Security over the agency's effort to withhold grant money.

State and local officials say DHS's demands for costly and unnecessary voting restrictions have put them at risk of losing money for anti-terrorism teams, equipment to counter drone and bomb attacks, protective gear and overtime pay, among other things.

"We have dedicated public servants of again all political backgrounds that are involved in ensuring that elections are run securely and fairly," Kamin said.

"But what's happening here is the threat to public safety funding and withholding counterterrorism dollars that local law enforcement relies on for partisan political purposes for one individual, and that is Donald Trump." The other side: In July, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin threatened to withhold federal funding from state governments, echoing Trump's claim that there were thousands of noncitizens on state voter rolls.

"I obviously can't force the states" to work with the administration, Mullin said then.

But "we are not going to spend taxpayer dollars reimbursing the states that are refusing to secure their elections." "We fully expected opposition to common-sense measures designed to protect election security and safeguard the integrity of American democracy," a FEMA spokesperson said in a statement.