Court Grants States’ Motion to Enforce; Orders Trump Administration to Unfreeze FEMA Grants
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Attorney General Peter F. Neronha today issued the following statement applauding Judge McConnell’s order granting the Office’s motion to enforce an injunction previously imposed by the Court which prohibited the Trump administration to categorically freeze federal funds to states after the Administration withheld FEMA funds allocated for disaster relief.
“With this order, we are confirming what we already know: the President is not above the law,” said Attorney General Neronha. “This Administration has been holding hostage FEMA funds that are critical to the health and safety of Rhode Islanders and Americans everywhere; funds that were lawfully allocated by the Congress to support natural disaster relief and other worthy initiatives. When the President and his Administration continuously flout court orders, they are testing the boundaries of what they can get away with, and toying with American lives in the process. Enough is enough, and the Court has made that crystal clear. Our Office and attorneys general across the country will continue our relentless pursuit of the rule of law, and we will not hesitate to ensure that the people of Rhode Island receive every dollar that they are due.”
The Court ordered that the Defendants must “immediately comply with the plain text of the preliminary injunction order not to pause or otherwise impede the disbursement of appropriate federal funds to the States.” The Court emphasizes that the Defendants must “immediately cease the challenged manual review process” that is underway at FEMA and resulted in an “indefinite pause” on the disbursement of FEMA funds.
Rhode Island is leading this litigation with the attorneys general of New York, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. Joining the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.
