Trump administration sued by 20 states over FEMA funding cuts
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Donald Trump attends a town hall, moderated by Kristi Noem on Oct. 14, 2024. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP
The Trump administration is being sued by 20 states that are seeking to block the cancellation of a grant program that helped protect against potential natural disasters.
The big picture: "By unilaterally shutting down FEMA's flagship pre-disaster mitigation program, Defendants have acted unlawfully and violated core separation of powers principles," says the lawsuit that was filed in Boston on Wednesday. The program has helped state, local and territorial governments and tribal nations work to reduce their hazard risk.
Driving the news: In April, FEMA announced that it would end the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant program and cancel all BRIC applications from fiscal years 2020–2023.
- The post announcing the cuts was titled: "FEMA Ends Wasteful, Politicized Grant Program, Returning Agency to Core Mission of Helping Americans Recovering From Natural Disasters." It appears to have since been removed.
- The suit led by Washington and Massachusetts argues that by "refusing to spend funds Congress directed toward BRIC or trying to spend them on other programs," the administration had violated the Constitution and unlawfully intruded on Congress' "power of the purse."
Zoom in: "The impact of the shutdown has been devastating. Communities across the country are being forced to delay, scale back, or cancel hundreds of mitigation projects depending on this funding," the states argue in the suit.
- Projects that have been in development for years, and in which communities have invested millions of dollars for planning, permitting and environmental review, are now threatened. And in the meantime, Americans across the country face a higher risk of harm from natural disasters.
For the record: Most of the states suing the Federal Emergency Management Agency, acting FEMA head David Richardson, the Department of Homeland Security and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem are Democratic-led.
- The states suing the administration are: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
- Representatives for the DHS and FEMA did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment on Wednesday evening.
Go deeper: Governors accuse Trump admin of stalling disaster recovery
Editor's note: The photo in this story was changed as the previous photo incorrectly identified Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
