Judge Blocks Federal Government From Diverting FEMA Disaster Preparedness Funds

The judge ruled that the states had shown ‘a realistic existence of irreparable harm’ should the injunction not be granted.

A person sits at a desk inside a mobile Federal Emergency Management Agency command center in downtown Dawson Springs, Ky., on Dec. 14, 2021. Jon Cherry/Reuters

A federal judge temporarily blocked the federal government on Aug. 5 from redirecting $4.5 billion in funds designated for a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster prevention program.

District Judge Richard Stearns of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued a preliminary injunction sought by 20 states to prevent the federal government from spending funds allocated to the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program for non-BRIC purposes while the litigation is ongoing.