Please Follow us on Gab, Minds, Telegram, Rumble, Gettr, Truth Social, Twitter
Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of 20 states in suing the Trump Administration over its decision to shut down the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program.
As a reminder on January 24, 2025, the Trump Administration announced it had serious concerns about the political bias in FEMA.
"Indeed, at least one former FEMA responder has stated that FEMA managers directed her to avoid homes of individuals supporting the campaign of Donald J. Trump for President. And it has lost mission focus, diverting limited staff and resources to support missions beyond its scope and authority, spending well over a billion dollars to welcome illegal aliens," said the Presidential Action on the matter.
Then in April a FEMA spokesperson said, “The BRIC program was yet another example of a wasteful and ineffective FEMA program. It was more concerned with political agendas than helping Americans affected by natural disasters."
Yesterday, AG Tong blamed the Trump Administration for "turning its back on the most fundamental responsibility of government—to keep us safe, and to be there to help when the worst happens."
"Refusing to prepare for natural disasters will not stop nature and will not save money. Communities across Connecticut are expecting and relying on tens of millions of dollars in promised FEMA funds to protect lives, homes and infrastructure from severe flooding and storm surges. Donald Trump cannot unilaterally seize our funds to funnel favors and tax breaks to his favorite billionaires. We’re suing, and we’re doing everything we can to stop him,” said Attorney General Tong.
“The Trump administration’s attempt to dismantle the FEMA BRIC program threatens the safety and resilience of communities like Stamford,” said Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons, who joined Attorney General Tong in Stamford as he announced the lawsuit. “This funding is critical for infrastructure projects, like our seawall improvements, which protect our wastewater treatment facility, Transfer Station, and surrounding neighborhoods from coastal flooding. I’m grateful to Attorney General Tong for standing up to this harmful decision and working to restore the funding municipalities depend on to ensure our infrastructure is resilient and prepared for the impacts of climate change.”
Over the past four years, FEMA has selected nearly 2,000 projects to receive roughly $4.5 billion in BRIC funding nationwide. Connecticut has received tens of millions of dollars in FEMA-BRIC funding since 2020 to address flooding risks and storm surge hazards, and more.
"The cancellation of the BRIC program imperils not just the funding that had been awarded and now cancelled, but future awards that Connecticut would have expected to receive. Total cancelled funds in Connecticut are estimated to exceed $84 million, including $42 million for the Resilient Bridgeport Coastal Flood Defense System to address recurrent flooding and coastal storm surges affecting the city of Bridgeport’s South End, which has been repeatedly impacted by major storm events," said the release from Tong's office. "Also cancelled includes $900,000 in funds for the ongoing City of Stamford Seawall Improvement Project. The existing seawall is operating beyond its useful life and threatens wastewater infrastructure, properties and lives. Also impacted is $25 million for the ongoing New Haven Inland and Coastal Resiliency Project to address flooding, among other critical efforts."
Attorney General Tong and the coalition argue that FEMA’s decision to terminate the BRIC program is in violation of Congress’s decision to fund it. They further argue that the Executive Branch has no lawful authority to unilaterally refuse to spend funds appropriated by Congress. They also assert that shutting down the BRIC program violates Separation of Powers and the Administrative Procedures Act, and violates the Appointments Clause because Cameron Hamilton, who acted as FEMA Administrator and gave the directive to terminate the BRIC program, was never appointed by the President or confirmed by the Senate and therefore was acting as Administrator unlawfully.
Attorney General Tong and the coalition are seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent the Trump Administration from spending BRIC funds on other purposes and a permanent injunction to reverse the termination of the BRIC program and require the restoration of these funds.
Joining Attorney General Tong in filing this lawsuit are attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and the governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Click here to view the complaint.
Stay updated with the latest in the Constitution State with The CT Centinal
