States Sue Trump Admin Over Conditions to Receive FEMA Funds

Twenty-five states and Washington DC sued the Trump administration on Thursday over its new requirements to receive Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant funds. 

The Details: Under the latest conditions, states are required to certify their voter rolls through a federal database, move toward hand-marked paper ballots and abide by federal immigration law, according to several outlets. It also allowed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to cancel grants for any reason. The states argued the administration was withholding disaster relief to force through its agenda, which it estimated to be at least 20% of Homeland Security Grant Program awards – roughly $148 million.

The States: Outlets including The Hill (Center bias) and Washington Examiner (Lean Right) led with Democratic-led states were suing in their headlines, however the lawsuit includes attorneys from states across the political spectrum. Those involved are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Washington DC, as well as the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania. 

'Jeopardizing Public Safety': Many outlets on the left emphasized the implications for state emergency response if funds are withheld. ABC News (Lean Left) said the tactic is one the Trump administration has repeatedly used to "browbeat mostly Democrat states into complying with its priorities," and also noted it's one that "courts have repeatedly found…to be unlawful and unconstitutional." It quoted the Rhode Island attorney general saying, "This Administration is using the safety of Americans as collateral."

'Protecting Elections': Outlets including Reuters (Center) and CBS News (Lean Left) included a quote from a FEMA spokesperson who said, "We fully expected these left-wing politicians to oppose common-sense measures designed to protect election security." Reuters wrote that President Trump and his allies have made false claims about widespread voting fraud since 2020, but also mentioned that 6,600 unauthorized immigrants recently found to have been accidentally registered to vote in New Jersey.

As of Thursday afternoon, Washington Examiner was the only outlet on the right that AllSides found to cover the story.

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