AG Kaul secures court order protecting Wisconsin FEMA funding

MADISON, Wis. (CIVIC MEDIA) – Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul was successful in securing a court order Tuesday that blocks the federal government from withholding emergency preparedness funding in the interest of forcing states to comply with the Trump administration’s agenda.

According to a Wisconsin Department of Justice news release, Kaul joined a coalition composed of several states in filing a lawsuit against the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for threatening to withhold critical emergency preparedness funding and coercing states into advancing the directives of the federal government. The lawsuit claimed that such actions exceeded legal authority and the U.S. Constitution.

The U.S. Court for the District of Rhode Island agreed with Kaul’s coalition, ruling that the DHS violated the Administrative Procedure Act in imposing unrelated conditions in order for states to receive FEMA funding, and that those conditions violated the U.S. Constitution’s Spending Clause.

“Funding that will help bolster emergency preparedness shouldn’t have been put at risk,” said Kaul in a statement. “Pursuant to this ruling, this funding will be safeguarded from this attempt by the Trump administration to exceed its authority.”

Kaul’s victory is the latest in a series of successes against the Trump administration – the attorney general previously barred the federal government from redirecting funds from Wisconsin disaster prevention projects, and he succeeded in restoring crucial health and social programs in the state.