Trump has made a number of other threats that were either struck down by judges or that the president paused on his own.
Previously, Trump threatened to cut funding for sanctuary cities to force them to comply with more stringent immigration policies.
In his memo, Trump singled out Seattle, New York City, Portland, Oregon, and Washington, D.C., for possible loss of federal dollars.
It is just the latest baseless, petty and divisive move by President Trump to distract from his abject failure to protect Americans from COVID-19, Inslee said.
______Associated Press writers Gillian Flaccus in Portland, Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, and Karen Matthews in New York City contributed to this report.