A group of Democratic-led states is again accusing President Donald Trump’s administration of violating a court order by failing to release hundreds of millions of dollars in federal disaster funds, the latest fallout from a lawsuit over the White House’s chaotic January spending freeze.
In a court filing late Monday, a group of state attorneys general said they’re at an “impasse” with the Federal Emergency Management Agency over the continued freezing of some funds, including millions of dollars earmarked for Hawaii to assist victims of the deadly 2023 wildfires in Maui.
The states “will need to wind down important programmatic emergency services, including disaster relief to people and communities affected by the Maui wildfires, in short order if funding is not immediately unfrozen,” the AGs said in a request to enforce the court’s earlier order.
A long-term injunction was issued against the spending freeze earlier this month by Chief US District Judge John McConnell of Rhode Island, who cited the “catastrophic consequences” of trillions of dollars being temporarily blocked for grants, loans and other financial assistance to nonprofits and states across the country. The freeze was part of a broader Trump effort to slash government spending.
The government’s alleged failure to fully follow the court’s order comes amid growing concerns that the administration is dragging its feet to comply with decisions it disagrees with — or refusing to follow them outright.
The White House didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
The Justice Department said in a status report filed earlier this month that FEMA is undertaking a standard “manual review” of the funding to find irregularities and ensure grant recipients are following obligations.
“FEMA is processing payment requests and approving them for payment as appropriate, simply with an added level of internal controls to ensure that payment requests are reviewed prior to payment being released,” the agency said.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is leading the group of AGs, said FEMA has failed to release tens of millions of dollars to the state for disaster preparedness and recovery programs.
“The Trump administration is putting lives at risk by continuing to freeze disaster relief and emergency preparedness funds to states,” James said. “We sued to stop the administration’s reckless and illegal funding freeze, and the court has repeatedly ruled that the essential funding our communities rely on must be restored.”
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
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