If the nation's so-called "sanctuary cities" gang up to sue over Attorney General Jeff Sessions' threat to withhold federal funding from them, it is uncertain whether the Justice Department would prevail, former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy told Newsmax TV.
"I think the Justice Department should win, but I don't think it's a frivolous lawsuit," McCarthy told host Steve Malzberg on Tuesday's "America Talks Live."
McCarthy said in one of the court fights over the Affordable Care Act, one issue revolved around whether the federal government "could sort of use a carrot as a stick" and coerce states to adopt federal mandates by the threat of withholding government money.
See Steve Malzberg on Newsmax TV: Tune in beginning at 12 PM ET to "America Talks Live" — on FiOS 115/615, YouTube Livestream, Newsmax TV App from any smartphone, NewsmaxTV.com, Roku, Amazon Fire — More Systems Here
"I think it's a different situation [here] because what we're talking about are very discretionary Justice Department programs that they don't really have to share the funds with the states in the way that is analogous I think to Obamacare," McCarthy said.
"But [former] President [Barack] Obama put about, I want to say, around 350 judges on the federal bench in his eight years, and I would not call this frivolous or say that it's a slam dunk for the Justice Department, even though I expect them to win."
Sessions threatened Monday to cut off Justice Department grants to cities that fail to assist federal immigration authorities in rounding up illegal immigrants to face deportation.
Dozens of cities including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago are part of the sanctuary movement to shield undocumented immigrants.
McCarthy, who served as assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and is now a contributing editor for National Review, is author of "Faithless Execution: Building the Political Case for Obama's Impeachment," published by Encounter Books.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.