Attorney General Bonta Asks Court to Enforce Order Against Trump Administration Over Continued Disruptions to FEMA Funding

OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta, leading a coalition of 23 state attorneys general, asked the District Court for the District of Rhode Island to enforce its preliminary injunction against the Trump Administration as states continue to face obstacles in accessing obligated Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding. Despite the coalition’s success in unlocking billions in wrongfully frozen funds through a preliminary injunction and earlier motion to enforce, the Trump Administration has continued to freeze millions of dollars in FEMA funding for critical emergency preparedness and recovery programs, including disaster relief for communities affected by the Maui wildfires.

“The Trump Administration must follow the law and release vital, previously awarded FEMA funding to the states,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Without this funding, Hawaii and other states may be forced to wind down disaster relief programs, including those actively helping victims of the Maui wildfires rebuild. We cannot let the Trump Administration duck its legal obligation here as it attempts to seize the power of the purse at the expense of Congress and the U.S. Constitution.”

In January, a coalition of 23 attorneys general, led by the attorneys general of California, New York, Rhode Island, Illinois, and Massachusetts, sued the Trump Administration over its attempt to freeze up to $3 trillion in federal funding. The U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island quickly granted the attorneys general’s request for a temporary restraining order, blocking the freeze’s implementation until further order from the court. Soon after, the attorneys general filed motions for enforcement and a preliminary injunction to stop the illegal freeze and preserve federal funding that Congress appropriated and that families, communities, and states rely on. The court granted the motion for enforcement, ordering the Administration to immediately comply with its temporary restraining order, and later, the motion for a preliminary injunction.  

Attorney General Bonta is joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin in filing the motion to enforce.

A copy of the motion to enforce is available here.