California Attorney General Rob Bonta, along with 22 other state attorneys general, has approached the District Court for the District of Rhode Island to request enforcement of a preliminary injunction against the Trump Administration. The issue at hand is ongoing difficulties in accessing Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding, which has been critical for emergency preparedness and recovery programs.
Despite an earlier court order that unlocked billions in previously frozen funds, the Trump Administration continues to freeze millions of dollars in FEMA funding. This includes disaster relief efforts for communities affected by events such as the Maui wildfires. Attorney General Bonta emphasized the importance of releasing these funds: “The Trump Administration must follow the law and release vital, previously awarded FEMA funding to the states.”
In January, a coalition led by attorneys general from California, New York, Rhode Island, Illinois, and Massachusetts filed a lawsuit against what they described as an illegal attempt by the Trump Administration to freeze up to $3 trillion in federal funding. The U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island responded quickly by granting a temporary restraining order against this freeze until further notice.
Subsequent legal actions included motions for enforcement and a preliminary injunction aimed at stopping what was termed an "illegal freeze" on federal funding appropriated by Congress. These motions were granted by the court.
Attorney General Bonta's motion to enforce is supported by his counterparts from Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont Washington D.C., Washington State and Wisconsin.
A copy of this motion is publicly available.