Could politics put your city's funding at risk?

August 24, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

In 2021, during the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government sent $350 billion to state and local governments through the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA. It was a lifeline. Cities like Rochester, Minnesota, used the money to keep police, fire, and EMS on the payroll without raising property taxes. Athens, Ohio, used it to finally renovate a historic armory building that had sat dormant for 25 years. But today, a new proposal from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) threatens to rewrite the rules for how all federal grants are awarded and maintained—and local governments are worried that future funding could be cut off not because of performance, but because of politics.

The proposed rule change and the uncertainty it creates

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What you'll learn

1 (00:10) **Federal Funding Gets Political** - The hosts introduce the core story: a court filing reveals the Department of Energy canceled grants based on whether projects were in blue states, and the OMB is proposing sweeping changes to all federal grants.
2 (02:47) **The Lobbyist's Warning** - Dante Moreno of the National League of Cities explains the practical danger of the proposed rule changes.
3 (03:50) **Looking Back at ARPA** - The show pivots to the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) as a recent, massive example of federal grants to local governments.
4 (04:37) **Rochester, Minnesota's ARPA Story** - Mayor Kim Norton describes how her city of 127,000 used its $17.4 million in ARPA funds.
5 (06:01) **Athens, Ohio's ARPA Story** - Deputy Service Safety Director Andrew Chicky explains how ARPA's flexibility finally solved a 25-year-old problem.
6 (07:09) **Pushback and a Taste of the Future** - The episode notes that some ARPA spending was controversial (e.g., a $7 million aquarium), but the focus returns to the OMB's new proposal.
7 (09:01) **The Final Warning and Deadline** - The show concludes with the core tension: ARPA's success was built on trust and flexibility, which the new rules would erase.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

The Trump administration recently admitted to pulling grants over politics. This practice could become more common. How do cities use grant money, and how will they adapt?

Fact checking by Sierra Juarez.

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