Trump Admin's Effort To Reallocate Billions In FEMA Disaster Relief Funds Blocked

As a candidate, Trump spread misinformation about the Hurricane Helene recovery efforts in Western North Carolina. Things took a dark turn, and Joe Biden's efforts were hampered. Now, in 2025, the Trump administration sought to reallocate $4 billion in FEMA funding intended to help communities protect themselves against natural disasters.

A lawsuit was brought by 20 states in July, noting that Congress had allocated money for the program and that any attempt to redirect it would run afoul of the Constitution.

CBS News reports:

A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the Trump administration's efforts to reallocate more than $4 billion in federal funding geared toward natural disaster mitigation projects, arguing the transfer could lead to "irreparable harm" to flood-prone areas.

The injunction by U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns in Boston followed a July lawsuit brought by 20 states. They argued that FEMA's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program had been unlawfully terminated in April 2025 under the Trump administration, with more than $4 billion in unspent funding that had been allocated by Congress redirected without its authority. Stearns wrote that the court was "not convinced" that Congress had intended for the money to be reallocated.

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