States sue FEMA and DHS over Trump grant conditions
A 25-state coalition says FEMA and DHS are using emergency grants to pressure states on elections and immigration.
By Sal Moretti · Money Reporter
3 min read
Twenty-five states and the District of Columbia are suing the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security, saying the Trump administration is holding disaster-preparedness and homeland security money over their heads to push election and immigration policies.
The case, filed in federal court in Rhode Island, targets new conditions attached to grants that the states say Congress set aside for emergency readiness, counterterrorism and disaster response. According to the complaint, the agencies could withhold at least 20% of Homeland Security Grant Program awards from the plaintiff states, an estimated $148 million, and could go further by ending entire awards if states do not comply.
Why are states suing FEMA and DHS?
The states say FEMA and DHS are tying emergency funding to policy demands that are largely unrelated to the grant programs. The challenged conditions would require states to verify voter citizenship through a federal database, move toward hand-marked paper ballots, carry out election audits set by the federal government and cooperate with federal immigration enforcement, according to the complaint.
Homeland Security Grant Program funds are used for emergency-management work, including reimbursement for first responders, bomb squads, cybersecurity, disaster response and security at houses of worship, according to the lawsuit.
The complaint also challenges language that would allow FEMA to cancel grants if they no longer match the administration’s shifting priorities or its view of the “national interest.” The states argue that would make multiyear awards unstable and give the executive branch a path to redirect money that Congress already approved.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha, who is co-leading the case, said in a statement that the Trump administration is “threatening to jeopardize public safety by unlawfully withholding billions in critical funding.”
“Congress allocated these funds to the states for preparing for and responding to emergencies including counterterrorism and natural disasters, and the executive branch has no legal say in the matter,” Neronha said. “Federal emergency funding cannot and will not be held hostage from states.”
The states argue the conditions violate the Administrative Procedure Act and the Constitution’s Spending Clause. They are asking a federal judge in Rhode Island to block the conditions, void them nationwide as applied to the plaintiffs and require the agencies to issue funding documents.
CBS News reported that it contacted DHS and FEMA for comment.
Which states joined the FEMA and DHS lawsuit?
Along with Rhode Island, the lawsuit was joined by attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.
The District of Columbia is also part of the case. Kentucky and Pennsylvania joined through their governors, according to the filing.
This story draws on original reporting from CBS News.