AG Kaul Takes Action to Enforce Court Order Stopping Trump Administration’s Illegal Funding Freeze

MADISON, Wis. – Attorney General Josh Kaul today 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.

 

“The Trump administration must follow the law and comply with court orders,” said AG Kaul. “Its continued failure to do so in this case is not only a serious concern—it also means that funds to prepare for and respond to emergencies are being blocked, putting people’s safety and security at risk.”

 

Attorney General Kaul 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 Kaul 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 Kaul 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 Wisconsin in the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia.