In 1994, Congress enacted the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act (VCCLEA), Pub. L. No. 103-322, 108 Stat. 1796, to provide a range of federal assistance to state and local law enforcement. The Public Safety Partnership and Community Policing Act of 1994, Pub. L. No. 103-322, 108 Stat. 1807 (the Act), which was enacted as part of the VCCLEA, authorizes the Department of Justice (DOJ) to administer a competitive grant program that allocates a limited pool of funds to state and local applicants whose applications are approved by the Attorney General.

In 2017, Los Angeles applied for a grant, but failed to score highly enough to earn one. It challenges the use of two of the many factors DOJ uses in determining the scores for each applicant. Because DOJ's use of these two factors in evaluating applicants for a competitive grant program did not violate the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution, art. I, § 8, cl. 1, did not exceed DOJ's statutory authority, and did not violate the Administrative Procedure Act, we reverse the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Los Angeles.