20 States Sue Trump Administration Over FEMA Funding Cuts

North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson, along with a coalition of 19 other states and Pennsylvania, has sued the Trump administration over its decision to terminate FEMA's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, which provided significant funding for disaster preparedness and infrastructure resilience projects. The lawsuit alleges that FEMA's shutdown of the BRIC program, which had distributed roughly $4.5 billion to nearly 2,000 projects nationwide over four years, was unlawful and violated congressional mandates to prioritize mitigation efforts. In North Carolina alone, the canceled grants amounted to over $200 million, affecting critical infrastructure projects such as relocating pump stations in Hillsborough and Salisbury that help protect water and sewer services from flooding. The plaintiffs contend that FEMA leaders responsible for ending the program were not lawfully appointed and thus lacked authority to terminate BRIC, and they seek both a preliminary and permanent injunction to restore funding. This legal action follows recent natural disasters including Tropical Storm Chantal, highlighting the urgent need for mitigation funding amid an active hurricane season. Additionally, President Trump has indicated plans to phase out FEMA after the hurricane season, shifting disaster management responsibilities to states with reduced federal funding, raising concerns among emergency management officials.