Raoul Leads Coalition Seeking Court Order to Stop FEMA Funding Freeze
Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul led a coalition of 22 attorneys general in seeking a court order to force the Trump administration to unfreeze essential funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Despite multiple court orders, including a preliminary injunction issued on March 6 blocking the Trump administration from unlawfully freezing federal funds, the administration continues to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to states from FEMA.
This funding freeze threatens lifesaving emergency preparedness and recovery programs addressing terrorist attacks, mass shootings, wildfires, floods, cybersecurity threats and more. Raoul and the coalition filed a motion to enforce the March 6 preliminary injunction, seeking a court order requiring the administration to immediately stop the freezing of FEMA funds.
“Funding through FEMA is critical in Illinois and states around the country because it supports state efforts to help communities recover following natural disasters, but states rely on FEMA funds for so much more. States also count on FEMA grants to protect public spaces, such as houses of worship, hospitals and other nonprofits from cybersecurity threats, mass shootings and acts of terrorism,” Raoul said. “I will continue to stand with my fellow attorneys general to stop the funding freeze that would cause harm and uncertainty across the nation.”
The administration’s funding freeze policy, issued through an array of actions, including a Jan. 27 memorandum from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), illegally withheld trillions of dollars in federal funds for states and other entities like nonprofit organizations and community health centers. In the days after the policy was first issued, states could not access Medicaid dollars. Most recently, withheld FEMA funds have jeopardized public safety, disaster response and emergency preparedness throughout the country. As Raoul and the attorneys general assert in the motion to enforce, further freezing of FEMA funds would end disaster relief efforts and support for more than 4,000 survivors of the 2023 Maui wildfires.
On Jan. 28, Raoul led the coalition in filing a lawsuit against the administration over the freeze. On Jan. 31, the court granted the attorneys general a temporary restraining order (TRO) blocking the freeze’s implementation until further order. On Feb. 7, Raoul and the coalition filed motions seeking enforcement and a preliminary injunction to stop the illegal freeze and preserve federal funding upon which families, communities and states rely while the case is pending. The court granted the first motion for enforcement on Feb. 8 and ordered the administration to immediately comply with the TRO and stop freezing federal funds.
On Feb. 28, Raoul and the coalition filed a second motion for enforcement seeking to stop the Trump administration from freezing hundreds of millions of dollars in FEMA grants to the states. On March 6, the coalition won a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from unlawfully freezing federal funds to the states. As part of the preliminary injunction, the court required the administration to provide an update regarding FEMA’s compliance with the injunction by March 14. The funds continue to be withheld.
Joining Raoul in filing this motion are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
