Illustration by Leah Abucayan/CNN/Getty

Top brass at the Department of Homeland Security approached the Federal Emergency Management Agency this spring with a proposal: What if the agency blocked millions of dollars in security grants awarded to Muslim organizations around the country?

The suggestion of a blanket ban left the FEMA leaders bewildered and deeply concerned, and they immediately pointed out such a proposal could be considered discriminatory and even illegal, according to three sources with knowledge of the episode who asked not to be named out of fear of reprisal.

While the DHS officials didn’t give a reason for disqualifying Muslim groups when they floated the idea, the Trump administration at the time was in the throes of dramatically downsizing the federal government.

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