A federal judge ruled Today, the Trump administration, which includes U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, has gone against a court order aimed at reinstating FEMA aid for at least 19 states. The judge claims that the administration seems to be engaging in a "stealth" move to penalize those states that disagree with Trump’s stringent immigration policies.
The New Republic reports In March, U.S. District Judge John McConnell issued an injunction on behalf of 23 states that were suing the White House. This action came following the administration’s decision to halt FEMA assistance to these states. The judge, who was appointed during the Obama era, determined that pausing this support "significantly impairs the separate constitutional duties assigned to each governmental branch."
Federal hesitation pertains exclusively to states where the attorney generals belong to the Democratic Party. McConnell discovered that the Trump administration disregarded his court directive issued in March, as at least 19 states provided "uncontested proof" indicating they weren’t getting FEMA funds approved by Congress. Hawaii disclosed that FEMA hadn't responded to their $6 million application along with an additional $500K claim for financial compensation related to climate-induced wildfires. In contrast, Oregon stated that FEMA was unresponsive to their appeal for $129.4 million in federal aid aimed at addressing issues such as wildfires, harsh winter storms, floods, and landslides.
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The Court's intervention is essential," as stated in the filing, because they "continue to face substantial barriers in obtaining federal financial support" even though the government reviews ” spending.
They argue that federal hesitation isn’t simply "a pause or a withholding of funds," but rather an "internal control" mechanism being employed like a barrier, where FEMA has instituted a "secretive manual review procedure." This process seems to follow the guidelines set out in the President’s Executive Order from January 20, 2025, titled “Securing America From Invasions,” which specifically targets what are known as "sanctuary cities." Senator McConnell highlighted the link between this FEMA review protocol and the said executive order. Invasion EO and instructed FEMA to "stop immediately" the manual review process and follow his initial court order from March.
In January, states grew wary of potentially being labeled as immigrant sanctuaries following an executive order which stated that "utilizing federal funds for initiatives promoting Marxist equity, transgenderism, and Green New Deal social engineering policies is a misuse of taxpayers' money and fails to enhance the everyday lives of our constituents."
So far, states have not attempted to hold the Trump administration in contempt.
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Click here To read the entire piece from the New Republic.
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