BOSTON Massachusetts, December 12, 2025 (ENS) – Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell and a coalition of 20 states Thursday won their lawsuit against the Trump administration over its unlawful attempt to shut down an existing federal program that protects communities from natural disasters before they strike.
Campbell, a Democrat, said the ruling “will undoubtedly save lives by preventing the federal government from terminating funding that helps communities prepare for and mitigate the impacts of natural disasters.”
U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns in Massachusetts ruled that the administration lacked the authority to end the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s, Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, BRIC, program, which funds projects that otherwise might be difficult to finance.
He issued a permanent injunction restoring BRIC, the largest pre-disaster mitigation program offered through FEMA.
The BRIC program supports construction of evacuation shelters and floodwalls, the safeguarding of utility grids against wildfires, protection of wastewater and drinking water infrastructure, and the fortification of bridges, roadways, and culverts.
BRIC also provides money to fund levees, pump stations, earthquake retrofits, tornado saferooms, landslide protection, vegetation management for wildfire mitigation, and shoreline upgrades, the states said.
When newly created in 2020, the BRIC program included $446.4 million, up to $50 million per applicant, for a nationwide competitive grant program for infrastructure improvements that intersect with planning and emergency management.
The states did not accuse FEMA of unreasonably denying funding for any individual grant. They challenged only whether the agency had the discretion to terminate the BRIC program altogether.
Judge Stearns ruled that it did not have that discretionl. Instead, he ruled that the Trump administration’s action amounted to an “unlawful executive encroachment on the prerogative of Congress to appropriate funds for a specific and compelling purpose.”
“The BRIC program is designed to protect against natural disasters and save lives,” the judge wrote, adding that the “imminence of disasters is not deterred by bureaucratic obstruction.”
In August, Judge Stearns blocked FEMA from diverting for other uses more than $4 billion allocated to BRIC.
The ruling is a victory for states that challenged the Trump administration’s actions at the disaster relief agency after Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called for an overhaul of FEMA.
NOEM and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have for months been making plans to revamp FEMA as heads of a task force created by President Trump to slash FEMA’s role in disaster response by halving its workforce and instituting a new block grant system.
“The recommendations from the FEMA Review Council, a copy of which was obtained by CNN, do not propose eliminating the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem once vowed,” CNN News reported Thursday.
“It is time to close the chapter on FEMA,” the leaked Review Council report states, CNN said. “A new agency should be established that retains the core missions of FEMA, while highlighting the renewed emphasis on locally executed, state or tribally managed, and federally supported emergency management.”
The Review Council was expected to vote on its own recommendations Thursday, before sending the report to President Trump, who has been critical of the agency and suggested he might phase it out. The vote was short-circuited by Judge Stearn’s ruling.
Its recommendations, the council argues, would cut delays in funding and fulfill Trump’s plan to shift more responsibility for disaster response and recovery to the states.
The council also recommends raising the bar for states to qualify for federal assistance, which could leave states responsible for a much larger share of the costs for major disasters. They would have to fund response to and recovery from smaller storms on their own.
BRIC Took 15 Years to Create
Established in 2020 in response to Hurricane Katrina, which flooded New Orleans in 2005, the BRIC program provides grants to states and local communities for pre-disaster hazard mitigation projects such as flood reduction, seismic retrofitting, and infrastructure improvements. The program aims to build long-term resilience and reduce the costs of future natural disasters.
While it took 15 years after the costliest hurricane in U.S history devastated coastal Mississippi and Alabama, with over $125 billion in damages, 1,833 deaths, and the displacement of over a million people by levee failures that flooded 80 percent of New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina did gave rise to the BRIC program.
It was a national policy move toward proactive, rather than reactive, disaster preparation and response undertaken during the first Trump administration.
An April 2025 study by the National Institute of Building Sciences found that every dollar spent on the program avoids roughly $6 in costs. So, two decades of federal mitigation spending has saved $157.9 billion, according to the complaint by the plaintiff states.
“Federal grants save $6 per $1 cost. Public-sector investment in mitigation since 1995 by FEMA, EDA, and HUD cost the country $27 billion but will ultimately save $160 billion, meaning $6 saved per $1 invested,” the National Institute of Building Sciences calculated.
Judge Stearns concluded the proposed changes to FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program qualifies as a “substantial reduction” in its disaster mitigation capabilities – a move prohibited by Congress.
The states that brought this lawsuit, State of Washington v. Federal Emergency Management Agency, No. 1:25-cv-12006-RGS, include: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, plus the District of Columbia.
“The devastating flooding hurting communities across Western Washington right now underscores why these kinds of mitigation grants are so vital,” said Washington Attorney General Nick Brown in response to the court ruling.
“This administration illegally canceled a longstanding bipartisan program, leaving communities more vulnerable because they have been unable to fortify against disasters. The court’s decision is a resounding win for public safety,” Brown said.
Governor Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, signed an Emergency Proclamation on December 10, authorizing the use of the Washington National Guard. As catastrophic flooding continues, the Washington National Guard is mobilizing 400 personnel to help local agencies respond.
Guard members will assist with evacuations, staff traffic control points, and support sandbag operations. Army National Guard helicopter crews may be used for search and rescue.
Ferguson said Friday that President Trump has ordered emergency FEMA aid for the state:
“I just received a phone call from Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem,” the Washington governor said. “Secretary Noem informed me that the president signed our request for an emergency declaration. We have also received written confirmation of that emergency declaration.”
On the Atlantic coast, Maryland, one of the plaintiff states, has suffered many natural disasters and will benefit from the ruling, said Attorney General Anthony Brown.
“Every Marylander who has watched floodwaters destroy their home or seen their community torn apart by a natural disaster understands why the Trump administration’s unlawful cuts to the BRIC program were so reckless,” said Attorney General Brown. “Our lawsuit protected this important funding that will safeguard people and property from future disasters.”
