Oregon AG Fights Trump Administration in Court to Unlock Frozen FEMA Funds for Wildfires and Floods

Although the Trump administration continues to freeze hundreds of millions of dollars to states from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Oregon Attorney General, in a coalition with 22 other state AGs, continues to fight for the release of funds and has filed a second motion for the enforcement of their ongoing lawsuit.

Oregon AG Dan Rayfield said in a news release (Friday) that the funding freeze ‘threatens critical emergency preparedness and recovery programs’ that address issues like wildfires, floods, and cyber security.

Rayfield said it was ‘alarming’ that the Trump administration ignored a court order to release FEMA funding and assured that he would continue to persist in attempts to have the money for emergency events released to the state.

The court granted a temporary restraining order on 28 January when the coalition of AGs filed its first lawsuit. On 8 February, the coalition’s motion for enforcement was granted by the court, ordering the administration to comply with the temporary restraining order by unfreezing FEMA funding.

However, the Trump administration has ignored the court order and continues to withhold FEMA funding.

The second motion for enforcement was filed yesterday in the U.S. District Court of Rhode Island and is seeking a court order to release funding ‘if the Trump administration is unable to provide evidence that they have been unfrozen.’