Trump Is In Violation Of An Injunction That Allows Approved Grant Funds To Flow, Says RI Judge

Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!

Yesterday a Rhode Island federal judge ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to stop withholding grant funds to states. Rhode Island US District Chief Judge John McConnell has found President Donald Trump’s administration in violation of a preliminary injunction he issued last month, as reported by WPRI in Providence. Judge McConnell has ordered FEMA to comply with his preliminary injunction and to notify everyone who administers FEMA grants of his decision within 48 hours.

Trump’s executive order is titled, “Protecting the American People Against Invasion.” It is part of the Trump administration’s efforts to withhold federal funds from any “sanctuary” jurisdictions that don’t comply the new US Department of Homeland Security immigration policies.

Last month Trump called for the impeachment of another judge who had temporarily blocked deportation flights. The president has attempted to downplay each injunction, suggesting that a judge who rules against his wishes should be impeached. Trump’s message drew a rare rebuke from Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.

Judge McConnell’s original decision to demand unfreezing federally-approved funds was based on several points regarding the Trump administration’s actions:

• to unilaterally suspended federal funds without citing any legal authority;
• to set conditions on congressionally approved funds in violation of federal law and rules; and,
• to threaten states’ “ability to conduct essential activities.”

Trump’s legal team has denied the allegations. Instead, they counter that the administration is conducting a necessary manual-review process that ensures all programs are “free from fraud, waste, and abuse.” Once those criteria have been determined, then grant payments will be approved and funds will be disbursed. Trump attorneys insist this review process is within the power of the executive branch and doesn’t violate the court’s order.

McConnell disagrees, however, and has sided again this week with the states.

“The states have presented evidence that strongly suggests that FEMA is implementing this manual review processed based, covertly, on the President’s January 20, 2025 executive order. FEMA received notice of the preliminary injunction order, the order is clear and unambiguous, and there is no impediments to FEMA’s compliance with the order. The record makes clear that FEMA’s manual review process imposes an indefinite pause on the disbursement of federal funds to states. Thus, FEMA’s manual review process violates the court’s preliminary injunction order.”

McConnell also ordered FEMA to immediately cease the challenged manual-review process. US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is responsible for notifying grant administrators of the court’s decision and injunction.

Why is FEMA so Important to the Welfare of US Citizens?

FEMA’s mission is to help people before, during, and after disasters. Today, however, when people log into the FEMA website, they see a disclaimer: “FEMA.gov is being updated to comply with President Trump’s Executive Orders. Thank you for your patience and understanding.”

Moving forward, the FEMA revisionist work won’t tell the whole story of life after a disaster. It won’t speak of the federal support following 2022 Hurricane Ian in Florida, which totaled $8.69 billion by January 2025. It won’t reveal that more than 55,000 flood loss claims have been reported to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) from Hurricane Helene nor the $830 million in claim payments to policyholders or the projected claims losses between $3.5 to $7 billion. FEMA’s press releases that it has obligated over $1 billion in Public Assistance funds to aid Florida’s recovery from Hurricane Milton won’t be visible. It won’t relate how FEMA assigned the EPA with the first stage of the LA wildfires overall recovery and cleanup: the project to remove lithium-ion batteries and to survey, remove, and dispose of hazardous materials from properties burned by wildfires.

Programs that have been affected by Trump’s refusal to pay dedicated funding include:

• financial relief for victims of the 2023 wildfires in Maui;
• $130 million for Oregon local and tribal governments;
• $33 million for Colorado programs including flood prevention; and,
• 10 programs awarded to Rhode Island for cybersecurity, emergency operations, homeland security, and nonprofit security.

Why is the RI Judge’s Injunction so Important as Extreme Weather Events Become More Common?

From severe storms to recent unprecedented cold and heat waves, extreme weather events are impacting electric utilities, grid operators, and consumers like never before. At the same time, the energy sources that power the grid are evolving, integrating higher percentages of renewable sources. CleanTechnica‘s Steve Hanley argues that “the issue here is not climate change; the issue is people who refuse to acknowledge what it obviously going on right outside their door because of some belief that the fossil fuel industry must somehow be protected from any reckoning for its destruction of the environment.”

Extreme weather is leading to calamitous consequences, and we often fail to consider how many materials our built environment requires. Buildings across the globe represent more than 30% of all emissions, with transport responsible for another 20%. Insurers have adopted policies to address their customers’ exposure to weather- and climate-related risks and the scale of potential climate claims. Within the limits set by government regulators, insurers decide how much risk they can tolerate across their portfolio, raise premiums for owners of especially exposed homes, and purchase reinsurance to prepare for losses larger than they could normally afford. Insurers are lobbying against the Biden administration’s “all-of-government” approach and supporting the second Trump Administration’s “drill baby drill” and “merits-based” employment approach.

Final Thoughts

Nearly two dozen states have filed lawsuits against the Trump administration over his demands to freeze grants and other funds that Congress had already approved for states. On March 6, McConnell issued a preliminary injunction in the case that sided with the states. No further freezing of the funding would be permitted. State attorneys general reacted within weeks and reported that FEMA was not complying and had continued to withhold grants for programs in at least 19 states. On March 10, McConnell found the Trump administration in violation of an order in this case that froze federal funds in violation of a temporary restraining order just weeks earlier.

Attorney General Peter Neronha, one of the plaintiffs in the case for Rhode Island, expressed relief at Judge Connell’s latest ruling.

“With this order, we are confirming what we already know: the President is not above the law. When the President and his administration continuously flout court orders, they are testing the boundaries of what they can get away with, and toying with American lives in the process. Enough is enough, and the court has made that crystal clear.”