Defund Cities that Defund the Police Act of 2025

This bill, called the Defund Cities that Defund the Police Act of 2025, would block certain federal grants from going to any state or city that ends its police department or cuts its police budget by a lot—unless that budget cut happened because the government’s revenue dropped the year before. For cities, this applies only to places in Census-defined urban areas; rural police departments are not included.

If a state or city is considered “defunding,” it could not get federal economic development grants and Community Development Block Grants. These include grants for public works and economic development projects, planning, supplementary help, and training or technical assistance. If a government becomes “defunding” during a grant period, it must return the money, which would be reallocated to other parts of the same state or to other eligible communities. Applicants for community development grants must also promise they are not, and will not become, a “defunding” jurisdiction during the grant period .

Key points

• Who is affected: States and cities in urban areas that abolish police or significantly cut police budgets without a drop in revenues; rural departments are excluded.
• What changes: These places lose eligibility for certain economic development grants and Community Development Block Grants; if they become ineligible mid‑grant, they must return funds for redistribution to eligible communities .
• Compliance: Community development grant applicants must certify they are not “defunding” and won’t become so during the grant period.