Washington state sues Trump administration for disaster funding cuts

Conrad Swanson, The Seattle Times on Jul 17, 2025

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SEATTLE — While the country reels from a series of deadly and devastating floods, Washington and a coalition of other states are suing President Donald Trump’s administration to keep money flowing so they can guard against even more natural disasters.

The lawsuit from 20 states led, in part, by Washington Attorney General Nick Brown, argues that the Trump administration's decision to shutter a federal program meant to protect communities against disasters before they strike was illegal. The lawsuit comes as Trump has been criticized for politicizing disaster funding, denying requests for emergency federal aid and pushing to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The program at issue — Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities — was launched during Trump’s first term in office. It was designed to distribute billions of federal dollars to state, local and tribal governments scrambling to protect against what climatologists warn will be an onslaught of floods, wildfires, hurricanes and other disasters exacerbated by climate change in the coming years. The federal government has had similar resiliency programs in place for decades.

Since its launch, BRIC, as it’s called, has selected nearly 2,000 projects across the country to fund with a total of about $4.5 billion, Brown’s office said in a release. Washington alone was counting on $182 million from that pot of money for 27 projects.

That work includes the construction of levees and pump stations in Aberdeen and Hoquiam to stave off floodwaters in low-lying areas, essential protection for a community struggling to rebuild its sluggish economy. BRIC money would also have funded a tsunami evacuation structure in Westport, Grays Harbor County, updated hazard and mitigation plans for King and Snohomish counties and added electrical safeguards for hospitals and school districts in Klickitat County in case power fails during wildfires or storms.

But the Trump administration announced in April that it would end BRIC, with a FEMA spokesperson telling the nonprofit newsroom Grist that the program was “wasteful and ineffective,” and overly concerned about climate change.

Wednesday’s lawsuit argues otherwise.

Each dollar spent on mitigation saves an average of $6 in postdisaster costs, according to the complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. For decades, these types of programs have worked across the country to save lives, reduce injuries, protect property and save money that would otherwise be spent on recovery.

The Trump administration’s decision to eliminate BRIC not only exposes communities across the country to increased risk, but also violates a congressional mandate to fund the program, the lawsuit argues.

The lawsuit also alleges that, because then-acting FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton had not been officially appointed by Trump or confirmed by the Senate, he had no legal authority to order the elimination of the BRIC program.

Hamilton was fired in May after breaking with the Trump administration and saying he didn’t support cutting FEMA. During Hamilton's tenure, the agency refused Washington state's plea for emergency recovery funds after the November bomb cyclone knocked out power for more than half a million people. It also rejected North Carolina's request for additional relief after Hurricane Helene pushed torrential rain into the southeast, leading to catastrophic flooding across the region, particularly devastating Asheville.

While FEMA denied disaster declarations for those emergencies, and others in Arkansas and West Virginia, it did declare a disaster for the record-setting floods in Texas earlier this month that killed at least 134 people; nearly 100 remain missing. FEMA's slow and sporadic response to the region has still been heavily criticized.

Ultimately, Trump's cuts to FEMA and its programs thrust states into a position of uncertainty while major natural disasters are growing worse and arising more often.

The lawsuit filed by the lead states of Washington and Massachusetts is seeking a series of injunctions to reverse the elimination of the BRIC program, keep money flowing to communities across the country and prevent the Trump administration from spending that money elsewhere.

Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin also joined in on the suit.