Federal Judge Orders Trump Administration to Restore $4.5 Billion in FEMA Disaster Mitigation Funding

A federal judge in Massachusetts delivered a significant blow to the Trump administration's efforts to cut federal disaster spending on Thursday, ordering the restoration of billions of dollars in canceled FEMA disaster mitigation funding. U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns, appointed by President Bill Clinton, ruled that the administration's decision to cancel the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program was unlawful, citing federal appropriations statutes and FEMA's legal responsibility to help reduce disaster damage. The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by 22 states and the District of Columbia in July, three months after the Trump administration announced it was "ending" the BRIC program in April. The administration had characterized the program as "yet another example of a wasteful and ineffective FEMA program." The canceled funding totaled approximately $4.5 billion, including $3.6 billion in grants that had been awarded but not yet distributed, and $882 million in grants planned for the following fiscal year. The BRIC program was designed to help communities undertake pre-disaster projects to harden infrastructure and improve resilience against increasing climate change threats. Judge Stearns determined that the administration could not unilaterally eliminate the congressionally-funded program without legislative approval, imposing a potential hurdle in the administration's broader efforts to tighten FEMA's spending. The program's sudden cancellation had upended disaster preparedness projects across hundreds of communities in both Republican- and Democratic-led states. Planned improvements included stormwater drainage systems, electrical line hardening, and relocation assistance for households in high-risk areas. The BRIC program represented a key component of federal disaster mitigation strategy, focusing on proactive measures to reduce future disaster damage rather than reactive post-disaster relief. Communities across the nation had been counting on these funds to implement critical infrastructure improvements designed to withstand increasingly severe weather events. The court's decision requires FEMA to restore the canceled funding and continue operating the program as originally intended by Congress. This ruling represents a significant legal victory for state governments that had argued the administration overstepped its authority in canceling the congressionally-appropriated disaster mitigation funds. The case highlights ongoing tensions between the Trump administration's efforts to reduce federal spending on climate-related programs and states' demands for continued federal support for disaster preparedness initiatives.