The Trump administration is blocking states from getting millions of dollars in federal disaster aid and flood assistance, according to a new court filing that argues the actions violate a federal judge’s order to resume spending.
The filing said three states — New York, New Jersey and Vermont — have been instructed by the administration to stop work on federal flood protection activities related to “environmental justice,” “minority,” “diversity” and other terms targeted by President Donald Trump’s executive orders.
The administration’s spending freeze is preventing other states, including California and Michigan, from accessing grants and loans approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for improving disaster protection. FEMA is not reimbursing Washington state for disaster recovery costs. And New York “has hundreds of millions of dollars in FEMA grants that are inaccessible,” the filing said.
The problems are described in court papers filed Friday by a coalition of Democratic-led states that sued in federal court to block Trump’s attempted freeze of trillions of dollars in grants and loans.
