Attorney General Dan Rayfield today along with a coalition of 22 other attorneys general filed a second motion for enforcement in their ongoing lawsuit against the Trump administration’s illegal and destructive freeze of federal funding. Despite multiple court orders, the administration has continued to block hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to the states from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This funding freeze threatens critical emergency preparedness and recovery programs to address wildfires, floods, cybersecurity threats, and more.
“It’s alarming that the Trump administration continues to ignore a court order and refuses to release federal funding for FEMA,” Rayfield said. “Ignoring the law and putting politics over people’s safety is not only irresponsible, it is dangerous. We’re going to keep pushing and make sure the funds are released, and that the administration is held accountable for not following the law.”
Attorney General Rayfield and the coalition sued the administration over the freeze on January 28th, and the court granted a temporary restraining order (TRO). Then, on February 8th the court granted the coalition’s first motion for enforcement, ordering the administration to immediately comply with the TRO and stop freezing federal funds.
Despite the TRO, the administration continues to withhold essential funding. States, grantees, and programs are continuing to experience a significant lack of access to funds, putting people’s lives at risk. The second motion for enforcement, filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, seeks a court order to require the release of funds if the Trump administration is unable to provide evidence that they have been unfrozen.
Attorney General Rayfield is joined in this lawsuit by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.