Attorney General Tong Takes Action to Enforce Court Order Stopping Trump Administration’s Illegal Funding Freeze

Hartford, CT -- Attorney General William Tong this evening joined a coalition of 22 other attorneys general in filing a second motion for enforcement in their ongoing lawsuit against the Trump administration’s illegal and destructive freeze of federal funding. Despite multiple

court orders, the administration has continued to block hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to the states from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This funding freeze threatens critical emergency preparedness and recovery programs to address wildfires, floods, cybersecurity threats, and more.

“Trump is defunding disaster relief to states despite numerous, clear court orders blocking his illegal funding freeze. One month into this presidency, it is clear that Donald Trump intends to inflict real, lasting harm on American families, and he is willing to ignore the courts in order to do that. We are returning to court—once again—to defend our states and the families across Connecticut and America who are relying on these funds for life-saving disaster prevention efforts,” said Attorney General Tong. “After superstorms Sandy and Isaias, and the devastating flooding just last August here in Connecticut, we know the damage and destruction of extreme weather, how hard it is to recover, and why we need to be prepared.”

Attorney General Tong and the coalition sued the administration over the freeze on January 28, and on January 31, the court granted the attorneys general’s request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) blocking the freeze’s implementation until further order from the court. On February 7, the coalition filed motions for enforcement and a preliminary injunction to stop the illegal freeze until the case resolves and preserve federal funding that families, communities, and states rely on. On February 8, the court granted that first motion for enforcement, ordering the administration to immediately comply with the TRO and stop freezing federal funds.

Despite the TRO, Attorney General Tong and the coalition have found that the administration continues to withhold essential funding, and that states, grantees, and programs are continuing to experience a significant lack of access to funds, putting lives and jobs at risk. The funding that remains frozen includes hundreds of millions of dollars in FEMA grants to essential state programs that are responsible for wildfire prevention response, cybersecurity, flood mitigation, and emergency management.

Attorney General Tong and the coalition’s second motion for enforcement, filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, seeks a court order to require the release of funds if the Trump administration is unable to provide evidence that they have been unfrozen.

This lawsuit is led by the attorneys general of California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island. Joining the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.