After more than an hour of impassioned public testimonies, the Arlington City Council voted to uphold a suspension on discrimination protections for people in the city who identify as LGBTQ+ over fears that keeping them might make the North Texas city a target of the Republican-controlled White House.

The razor-thin 5-4 vote bars language in the city’s ordinance passed in 2021 that prevents employers and lodging businesses from discriminating against people for their sexual orientation or gender identity. The council suspended the ordinance in September amid worry that more than $60 million in federal dollars the city planned to use on city services, including public safety, parks, and roads, could be lost if they kept it.

“I assure you all that in spite of the vote tonight, the City of

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