AG Nessel Wins Renewed Motion to Enforce Against Trump Admin., Unfreezing FEMA Grants

LANSING – Today, a federal judge in the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island issued an order granting a renewed second Motion to Enforce against the Trump Administration’s illegal and destructive disruptions to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Alongside a coalition of 22 other attorneys general, AG Nessel filed a motion last week to compel the federal agency to resume FEMA grant outlays to state agencies, including Michigan State Police (MSP) and Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), that have been held up for months after the Trump administration sought to freeze most federal funding to the States. 

“FEMA and the federal administration cannot pick and choose when to abide federal court orders,” said Nessel. “These are essential emergency preparedness dollars, and disaster avoidance dollars, that our State Police and environmental regulators cannot be without. The hold on these grant funds has made Michigan less safe, and I’m hopeful today’s court order will finally get these dollars to MSP and EGLE.” 

Despite multiple court orders and a preliminary injunction, the administration has continued to block hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to the states from FEMA under the guise of a manual review process for grant draw requests. Currently, the Michigan State Police is being denied approximately $100 million in FEMA grant reimbursements, while the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy also has FEMA grant reimbursements on hold pending review. 

Today’s order from the Court explicitly orders FEMA to “immediately cease the challenged manual review process,” and further that “FEMA must immediately comply with the plain text of the preliminary injunction order not to pause or otherwise impede the disbursement of appropriated federal funds to the States...”