This story was updated on September 3 at 11:06 a.m.

President Trump is attempting to withhold federal funding from a number of U.S. cities, including D.C., where large-scale protests have occurred over the last few months.

In a memo signed Wednesday, Trump directed agencies within his administration to assess whether federal funding provided to Seattle, New York City, Portland, and the District can be redirected. He then ordered for those reports to be sent to the White House Office of Management and Budget.

The memo asks that agencies look at whether cities have: intervened with local law enforcement efforts to “restore order amid widespread or sustained violence or destruction”; defunded or “disempowered” police departments; refused assistance from the federal government in the form of additional law enforcement; and withdrew law enforcement from areas they usually tend to.

The memo says U.S. Attorney General William Barr has 14 days to develop a list of “anarchist jurisdictions.” White House budget director Russ Vought then has about a month to issue guidance on how those funds can be redirected.

“My Administration will not allow Federal tax dollars to fund cities that allow themselves to deteriorate into lawless zones,” Trump said in the memo.

Mayors of all four cities, including Bowser, condemned the move in a joint statement:

“Our cities, and the millions of Americans who we represent, are not President Trump’s political pawns. We are confronting unprecedented challenges—fighting back a pandemic and economic devastation without another stimulus. Now, instead of leadership from the White House, we are faced with new attacks that are unlawful, unconstitutional and will be undoubtedly defeated in court. President Trump needs to wake up to the reality facing our cities—and our entire country—and realize he is not above the law.”

The move signals further escalating tensions between Trump and leaders from each city, including Mayor Muriel Bowser, who has clashed with the president numerous times during the last few months over her response to protests in the District. Trump has often characterized Bowser’s response to protests as poor and at one point threatened to seize control of the city’s police department.

In the memo, Trump says, “Mayor Muriel Bowser allowed rioters and anarchists to engage in violence and destruction in late May and early June, requiring me to call in the National Guard to maintain law and order in the Nation’s Capital.”

“To ensure that Federal funds are neither unduly wasted nor spent in a manner that directly violates our Government’s promise to protect life, liberty, and property, it is imperative that the Federal Government review the use of Federal funds by jurisdictions that permit anarchy, violence, and destruction in America’s cities,” the memo reads.

Bowser has generally rebuked Trump’s claims and doubled down on her own. She criticized Trump after federal police used tear gas to clear protesters in front of St. John’s Church earlier this year so he could take a picture, calling the move “Shameful!” Bowser said part of the reason Trump was able to deploy National Guard troops on protesters was because D.C. is not a state.

Trump also lashed out at Bowser on Tuesday after a report commissioned by the mayor listed several historical figures whose names should be reviewed, contextualized, or removed from buildings and monuments across the city, calling her a “radically liberal mayor” and further deepening divisions between the two.

This story was updated to include a joint statement from the mayors of all four cities.