Federal Judge Halts Trump Administration’s Efforts to Reallocate FEMA Funds
TL/DR –
A US federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s move to reallocate over $4 billion in federal funding for natural disaster mitigation projects. The funding was part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, which was allegedly terminated unlawfully in April 2025. The BRIC program provided funding for local infrastructure projects designed to protect against natural disasters and its termination would affect disaster preparedness efforts across the country, leaving communities without access to critical funding for resilience projects.
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The Trump administration’s efforts to redistribute over $4 billion in federal disaster mitigation funding was temporarily blocked by a federal judge, citing potential “irreparable harm” to flood-prone regions. Twenty states had brought forth a lawsuit in July, claiming FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program was illegally terminated in April 2025 by the Trump administration. The redirected funding was originally allocated by Congress, the courts were “not convinced” of its reallocation.
U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns ruled that the supposed reallocation of the funds will be halted while the courts examine the states’ objections. The lawsuit argued that termination of the BRIC program would disrupt disaster preparedness efforts nationwide, leaving communities unable to access crucial funding for resilience projects approved prior.
FEMA officials declared in April they were “ending” the BRIC program, labeling it “wasteful”, but recently reversed these comments stating the program hasn’t been ended yet but was under review. A CBS News investigation found these funding cuts have disproportionately affected counties Mr. Trump won in the 2024 election.
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