Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner announced that his office has signed onto an amicus brief that seeks to have the courts reverse Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts to public safety.

In April, the Department of Justice abruptly ended more than $820 million in funding. More than 370 grants were affected for critical services such as community safety and violence intervention, effective law enforcement and prosecution, victim support services, and public safety research.

“The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office is proud to join over a dozen other prosecutors from around the country in pushing back against President Donald Trump’s and billionaire Elon Musk’s wildly inappropriate and draconian cuts to federal public safety and victim services funding,” said Krasner in a press release. “These cuts only serve to erode public safety in our communities by impacting the community-based groups, police, and prosecutorial authorities who work every day to reduce violence and address the needs of crime survivors.

“My office recently signed onto an amicus brief filed by the Public Rights Project in support of a lawsuit filed by the Vera Institute and three other plaintiffs against the Justice Department, seeking judicial intervention to reverse these cuts and reinstate the $820 million in critical support for violence intervention and other community safety initiatives, programming for law enforcement and prosecution, victim support services, and scientific studies into public safety.

“It is difficult to believe that a 34-time convicted felon who helped instigate a violent insurrection against the U.S. government and who is cruelly and recklessly overseeing a destructive deportation program targeting people—the vast majority of whom have no criminal records—and a billionaire who attempted to purchase an election, truly care about public safety and the rule of law. These funding cuts cast even more doubt on whether the current administration in Washington, D.C., cares one iota about public safety.

“Public safety requires that my office, in partnership with other justice leaders and jurisdictions, will continue to push back against the Trump administration’s dangerous and unlawful behavior whenever appropriate.”

The Public Rights Project filed an amicus brief on behalf of 25 jurisdictions in 19 states in the case.

Local Governments

• City of Baltimore, Maryland
• City of Chicago, Illinois
• Harris County, Texas
• King County, Washington
• City of Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Montgomery County, Maryland
• City of Newark, New Jersey
• City of New York, New York
• City of Sacramento, California
• City of Santa Monica, California

Local Government Leaders

• John Clark, Mayor, Town of Ridgway, Colorado
• Kara Davis, District Attorney, Wasco County, Oregon
• Matt Ellis, District Attorney, City of Hood River, Oregon
• Ramin Fatehi, Commonwealth’s Attorney, City of Norfolk, Virginia
• Delia Garza, County Attorney, Travis County, Texas
• Jose Garza, District Attorney, Travis County, Texas
• Sarah George, State’s Attorney, Chittenden County, Vermont
• Jeff Getting, Prosecuting Attorney, Kalamazoo County, Michigan
• Melesa Johnson, Elected Prosecutor, Jackson County, Missouri
• Lawrence Krasner, District Attorney, City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Quinton D. Lucas, Mayor, City of Kansas City, Missouri
• Ryan Mears, Prosecutor, Marion County, Indiana
• Steve Mulroy, District Attorney, County of Shelby, Tennessee
• Jeff Rosen, District Attorney, Santa Clara County, California
• Eli Savit, Prosecuting Attorney, Washtenaw County, Michigan
• Eric Sparr, District Attorney, Winnebago County, Wisconsin