A coalition of 20 U.S. states filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday challenging the Trump administration’s decision to cancel a key federal grant program designed to protect communities from natural disasters. The legal action, led by attorneys general from Washington and Massachusetts, seeks to block the termination of the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, a multibillion-dollar initiative that has funded nearly 2,000 disaster mitigation projects across the country.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Boston, argues that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) overstepped its authority when it shut down the BRIC program in April. According to the complaint, FEMA’s unilateral action violated the separation of powers by overriding congressional approval and funding for the program.
“By unilaterally shutting down FEMA’s flagship pre-disaster mitigation program, Defendants have acted unlawfully and violated core separation of powers principles,” the states said in their filing.
The BRIC program, originally established in 2018 as a modernized successor to earlier disaster mitigation initiatives, provides substantial federal funding—up to 75% of project costs, or 90% in rural areas—to support infrastructure upgrades aimed at reducing the impact of floods, hurricanes, wildfires, and other natural disasters. Past grants have supported the construction of evacuation shelters, flood barriers, and critical transportation improvements in disaster-prone regions.
Over the past four years, FEMA approved approximately $4.5 billion in grants under BRIC, with a large share going to coastal and high-risk states. These investments were widely viewed as essential in helping communities build resilience amid escalating climate-related threats.
However, the Trump administration defended its decision to terminate the program, describing it as inefficient, mismanaged, and subject to political misuse. FEMA claimed in its April announcement that the program’s design and execution had not yielded the intended outcomes and that the agency intended to pursue more targeted strategies for disaster readiness.
The lawsuit comes at a time of heightened scrutiny of FEMA’s role and effectiveness, particularly after recent deadly floods in Texas that left emergency response efforts stretched and communities devastated. Critics argue that the dismantling of BRIC is part of a broader trend toward weakening federal support for disaster preparedness, which they say could have long-term consequences for public safety.
State officials argue that pulling the plug on BRIC not only disrupts ongoing projects but also undermines future disaster prevention efforts at a time when extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and severe.
