Federal judge orders FEMA to restore billions in canceled disaster mitigation funding

A federal judge in Massachusetts on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to restore billions of dollars in canceled FEMA disaster mitigation funding, siding with 22 states and the District of Columbia that sued over the canceled grants this summer.

President Donald Trump's administration said in April it was “ending” the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, which helped communities with predisaster projects to harden infrastructure and improve resilience against the increasing threats of climate change.

The administration called the program “wasteful and ineffective” and said it would halt $3.6 billion in funding awarded but not yet paid and would not award $882 million in grants for the following fiscal year.

The program's disruption upended projects across hundreds of communities in both Republican- and Democratic-led states, thwarting plans to improve stormwater drainage, harden electrical lines and even help relocate households living in areas most vulnerable to disasters.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told The Associated Press Thursday that DHS “has not terminated BRIC,” but did not elaborate on the program’s status.

“The Biden Administration abandoned true mitigation and used BRIC as a green new deal slush fund,” the spokesperson said, referring to a Democratic plan to combat climate change. “It’s unfortunate that an activist judge either didn’t understand that or didn’t care.”

The order comes at a time of profound uncertainty over FEMA's future and on the same day that a long-awaited meeting of the FEMA Review Council to present a report recommending reforms to the agency was abruptly canceled by the White House because it had not been fully briefed on the latest version of the report, according to a White House official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Congress funded BRIC during the first Trump administration through the 2018 Disaster Recovery Reform Act, and FEMA launched the program in 2020. The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act made an additional $1 billion available for BRIC over five years, though only about $133 million had been delivered to communities by April, according to FEMA.

The program was criticized by some for being difficult to access for rural and less wealthy communities due to a complicated application process and cost-sharing requirements. But even Republican lawmakers like Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana opposed the cancellations and called for BRIC's reinstatement.

“It protects families and saves taxpayer dollars in the long-run,” Cassidy said on the Senate floor a week after the funding cancellation. “That’s efficient in my book.”

Judge Richard G. Stearns found that FEMA's actions were unlawful since Congress appropriated the money specifically for the grants and that there was an “inherent public interest in ensuring that the government follows the law.”

“The BRIC program is designed to protect against natural disasters and save lives,” Stearns wrote in the court order.

The Trump administration has slashed disaster preparedness dollars across multiple FEMA programs this year as part of its campaign to transfer more responsibility for disasters to states.

Since February, Trump has not approved any requests for hazard mitigation funding, a typical add-on that helps states, tribes and territories complete resilience projects after major disasters.

Emergency preparedness grants that states and local governments rely on to staff emergency management agencies and buy equipment are currently frozen after 12 states sued the Trump administration over unprecedented grant stipulations related to the administration's immigration agenda.

Multiple studies have shown that preemptive investments in disaster readiness can yield significant savings. A 2024 study funded by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce found every $1 invested in disaster preparation saved $13 in economic impact, damage and cleanup costs.

FILE - The Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters is photographed in Washington, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

TORONTO (AP) — A Canadian Conservative opposition lawmaker defected from his party and joined Prime Minister Mark Carney’s governing Liberals on Thursday, a move that leaves the Liberal Party just short of a simple majority of the seats in Parliament.

Michael Ma, who represents Markham–Unionville, is the second Canadian Conservative opposition lawmaker to join Carney’s Liberals in just over a month.

Ma said he entered politics “to focus on solutions, not division.”

“I have concluded that Prime Minister Mark Carney is offering the steady, practical approach we need to deliver on the priorities I hear every day while door knocking in Markham–Unionville,” Ma said in his statement.

The move puts the Liberals one seat shy of a majority government and being able to pass any bill without the support of an opposition party.

Carney joined hands and welcomed Ma at the Liberal Party Christmas party on Thursday night.

“Wow, such a big welcome,” Ma said.

Carney noted his coalition of supporters is growing.

“You are going to have a much better time spending Christmas with us than Christmas with the Kranks. We are all about Santa, not about the Grinch,” Carney joked.

The defection is a blow to Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who is facing a leadership review vote in January. Poilievre lost the last election in April and even his own seat in Parliament, but has since rejoined the House of Commons.

“Michael Ma was elected as a Conservative by the constituents of Markham-Unionville to fight against Liberal inflationary spending driving up the cost of living in his community,” Poilievre said in a statement on social media. “Today, he chose to endorse the very policies he was elected to oppose.”

Poilievre has lost three Conservative lawmakers in recent weeks. A third Conservative announced his resignation after talking to Carney about possibly crossing the floor.

Until this year, Poilievre was seen as a shoo-in to become Canada’s next prime minister and shepherd his Conservative Party back into power for the first time in a decade. Then, President Donald Trump declared economic war on the U.S.’s neighbor to the north and even threatened to make Canada the 51st state.

Carney has moved the Liberals to the center since replacing Justin Trudeau as prime minister and winning national elections.

“Two floor crossings in such a short period of time is rare, and other defections are always possible so the Conservative establishment must be extremely nervous right now,” said Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal.

“If another Conservative MP would cross the floor to join the Liberals, they would have a majority government, which would probably mean no federal elections any time soon and give more time to Poilievre’s adversaries within the Conservative Party of Canada to organize against him.”

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre stands in the House of Commons during Question Period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney delivers remarks during the annual Equal Voice gala in Ottawa, Ontario, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press via AP)