A residential desegregation conflict between the United States Justice Department and Westchester County was ratcheted up when the department threatened to ask that the county be held in contempt of court, according to a report by ProPublica.

The four-year dispute pits Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino against the Justice Department, and stems from a 2009 settlement in which the county agreed to pass a law aimed at ending discrimination against people receiving government subsidies to pay rent, the report said. However, Astorino vetoed that legislation, leading to a federal court decision earlier this month that he had violated the settlement, and included an order to sign the legislation, ProPublica said.

In its letter to the county, the Justice Department gave Astorino until Thursday to enact the legislation, ProPublica reported, and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development added that it would withhold $7.4 million in federal grants if the county does not comply with the court order by Thursday