AG Announces Court Order Blocking FEMA Grant Funding Changes

Tom Darby

CARSON CITY, Nev. — The Nevada Attorney General’s Office announced Monday that a federal court has blocked changes to two Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants that impact emergency management and homeland security funding in Nevada.

According to a media release, Attorney General Aaron Ford helped secure an order from the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon preventing the Trump administration from placing a funding hold on one FEMA grant and altering the timeline for how funds get used under both grants.

The court found that the challenged terms violated the Administrative Procedure Act in several ways. The ruling determined that the administration improperly restricted states’ ability to use the funding as originally intended, including for both past and future projects that fall within the scope of the grant programs.

In its December 23 order, the court vacated the disputed terms and issued permanent injunctive relief barring FEMA from enforcing them.

“The Trump administration’s attempt to undermine Nevada’s readiness for emergency situations and security threats is a total abdication of the government’s responsibility to its constituents,” Ford said in a statement. “The terms that President Trump’s administration attempted to place on these grants were blatantly illegal, and we are proud that the court has agreed.”

The grants fund a significant portion of Nevada’s Office of Emergency Management and provide federal support to states for emergency preparedness, homeland security, and terrorism prevention efforts. For fiscal year 2025, the funding at issue includes $4,218,945 in Emergency Management Performance Grant funds and $15,317,511 through the Homeland Security Grant Program.

Attorneys general from Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, and Wisconsin joined Ford in the case, along with the governor of Kentucky.