20 states sue FEMA for canceling grant program that guards against
natural disasters
[July 17, 2025]
By DAVID A. LIEB
Twenty Democratic-led states filed suit Wednesday against the Federal
Emergency Management Agency, challenging the elimination of a
long-running grant program that helps communities guard against damage
from natural disasters.
The lawsuit contends President Donald Trump's administration acted
illegally when it announced in April that it was ending the Building
Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program. FEMA canceled some
projects already in the works and refused to approve new ones despite
funding from Congress.
“In the wake of devastating flooding in Texas and other states, it’s
clear just how critical federal resources are in helping states prepare
for and respond to natural disasters,” said Attorney General Andrea Joy
Campbell of Massachusetts, where the federal lawsuit was filed. "By
abruptly and unlawfully shutting down the BRIC program, this
administration is abandoning states and local communities that rely on
federal funding to protect their residents and, in the event of
disaster, save lives.”
FEMA did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment. It
said in April that the program was “wasteful and ineffective” and “more
concerned with political agendas than helping Americans affected by
natural disasters.”
The program, established by a 2000 law, provides grants for a variety of
disaster mitigation efforts, including levees to protect against floods,
safe rooms to provide shelter from tornadoes, vegetation management to
reduce damage from fires and seismic retrofitting to fortify buildings
for earthquakes.
During his first term, Trump signed a law shoring up funding for
disaster risk reduction efforts. The program then got a $1 billion boost
from an infrastructure law signed by former President Joe Biden. That
law requires FEMA to make available at least $200 million annually for
disaster mitigation grants for the 2022-2026 fiscal years, the lawsuit
says.
The suit contends the Trump administration violated the constitutional
separation of powers because Congress had not authorized the program’s
demise. It also alleges the program's termination was illegal because
the decision was made while FEMA was under the leadership of an acting
administrator who had not met the requirements to be in charge of the
agency.
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President Donald Trump speaks at the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA), Sept. 1, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn
Martin, File)
The lawsuit says communities in every state have benefited from
federal disaster mitigation grants, which saved lives and spared
homes, businesses, hospitals and schools from costly damage.
Some communities have already been affected by the decision to end
the program.
Hillsborough, North Carolina, had been awarded nearly $7 million to
relocate a wastewater pumping station out of a flood plain and make
other water and sewer system improvements. But that hadn't happened
yet when the remnants of Tropical Storm Chantal damaged the pumping
station and forced it offline last week.
In rural Mount Pleasant, North Carolina, town officials had hoped to
use more than $4 million from the BRIC program to improve stormwater
drainage and safeguard a vulnerable electric system, thus protecting
investments in a historic theater and other businesses. While the
community largely supports Trump, assistant town manager Erin Burris
said people were blindsided by the lost funding they had spent years
pursuing.
“I’ve had downtown property owners saying, ‘What do we do?’” Burris
said. “I’ve got engineering plans ready to go and I don’t have the
money to do it.”
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Associated Press reporters Jack Brook, Michael Casey and Gary D.
Robertson contributed to this report.
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