The city of Denver has paused some of its efforts to detect and prevent nuclear and radiological terror attacks — a result of a federal freeze on funding for a long-running terror prevention program, according to a recently filed lawsuit.
In recent weeks, the city canceled a training meant to prepare local officials for potential terror attacks, and it has put a hold on repairs for equipment meant to detect radiation from dirty bombs and other nuclear or radiological weapons.
Meanwhile, a $263,000 detection unit is being left in storage instead of taken to public events, and the city has resorted to tracking its radiation-spotting equipment in Excel spreadsheets instead of paying a vendor for a software tracking system.
That’s according to a lawsuit the city joined on Monday, which alleges the Trump administration has unconstitutionally cut funding for “Securing the Cities.” The congressionally funded program helps Denver and 12 other cities pay for equipment, supplies and training to prevent nuclear and radiological terror attacks.
"Basic procedures are still in place and being carried out by our operators in the field. We are still carrying out the mission with the functional equipment we have," mayoral spokesperson Jon Ewing texted Denverite, relaying a message from the local Office of Emergency Management.
He continued: "At this time, we are unable to conduct refresher trainings and trainings for new operators, repair broken equipment, install equipment that has already been purchased ... and we lost access to our asset monitoring software system due to being unable to renew our contract."
The Department of Homeland Security has “effectively ignored” participants’ requests for reimbursement since Feb. 21, the lawsuit states. A total of 11 requests from the cities have gone unfulfilled for nearly a month or longer. Three of those came from Denver, totaling $305,000, Ewing said.
The office that runs the program, the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, has reportedly been targeted for closure by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
On May 14, DHS notified participating cities that they “must pause… all radiological and nuclear detection equipment purchases,” citing “funding constraints,” according to the lawsuit.
Federal officials have said that even though funding for the current fiscal year has been approved, it’s on “pause,” the lawsuit states. And there’s no sign that the program will be extended as the current budget periods expire.
The city of Chicago filed the lawsuit against DHS and its secretary, Kristi Noem, on May 16. Denver joined the lawsuit Monday. The cities of Boston, San Francisco and Seattle also are plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
“Congress enacted Securing the Cities and required DHS to provide resources to local governments to implement the program. DHS cannot override Congress’s judgment by freezing congressionally appropriated funding,” the lawsuit argues.
Securing the Cities has its roots in an order from former President George W. Bush and was later passed into law by Congress. Locally, the funding has been used for security for visits by former President Joe Biden to Denver in 2003; for then-candidate Donald Trump to Aurora in October; and for concerts at Red Rocks.
The lawsuit seeks to force the federal government to continue distributing funding. DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
