Attorney General Anthony G. Brown, alongside a coalition of 22 other attorneys general, filed a motion today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island to enforce the release of hundreds of millions of dollars in frozen federal funds. These funds, intended for emergency preparedness and recovery programs such as wildfire response, flood mitigation, and cybersecurity, have been withheld by the Trump administration despite existing court orders.
The legal action escalates an ongoing battle that began with the coalition’s initial lawsuit against the administration’s funding freeze on January 28. Shortly thereafter, on January 31, the court issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) prohibiting the implementation of the freeze. Despite the court’s directive and a subsequent enforcement order on February 10 mandating immediate compliance, the coalition reports continued obstruction in the disbursement of the FEMA grants.
This persistent defiance has prompted the coalition to seek further judicial intervention to secure the necessary funds for states to effectively manage and recover from natural disasters and other emergencies.
The states participating in the lawsuit include Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. Attorney General Brown emphasized the critical nature of these funds in supporting Maryland’s disaster response capabilities and highlighted the broader implications of the freeze on national safety and preparedness.
