Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield led a coalition of 11 state attorneys general and the governor of Kentucky in suing Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other administration officials leading the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for imposing onerous and unlawful restrictions on grants to states. These barriers have prevented the plaintiff states from accessing critical funds used to support emergency management and disaster preparedness, effectively de-funding state and local law enforcement and emergency response agencies and personnel.

States are challenging two conditions that FEMA placed on existing funding awards that had already been granted. In the case of the Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG), FEMA unlawfully demanded that states provide “a certification of the recipient state’s population as of September 30, 2025,” and refused to release any funding until FEMA officials had reviewed state submissions and approved both the certification and the methodology used.  States do not maintain detailed, up-to-the-minute population counts. Additionally, FEMA has no authority to demand this data as a condition for releasing federal funding authorized by Congress, which directs FEMA to use Census Bureau data. FEMA also arbitrarily compressed the grant timeline for both funds under the EMPG program as well as the Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP) from the original period of three years down to one year, without notice or explanation.

Congress established the EMPG funding formula by statute, and these funds are used to prepare for and respond to emergencies. EMPG funds support operations personnel, emergency management training, disaster response exercises, and purchase of equipment and technology. States allocate the funds to cities, towns, and counties, backdating awards to reimburse communities for expenses they have previously incurred. The HSGP supports state efforts to protect public health and safety, including efforts to prepare for and protect against acts of terrorism, as well as cooperation and coordination with federal agencies to strengthen border security. By adding unlawful terms requiring population certifications and changing the performance period, FEMA made funding functionally unavailable, contrary to Congress’ allocation. 

The states have asked the court to rule that the terms that FEMA imposed are unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act and the enabling legislation and to vacate those terms. The states have asked the court to order FEMA to honor the original grant terms and allow states to draw down their lawfully awarded funds under both grant programs.

The Trump Administration should be working with states to keep our residents safe. Instead, the White House continues again and again to pull the rug out from under us, putting the safety of our communities in jeopardy. Congress created FEMA to ensure the federal government would stand with the people it serves in times of crisis, not abandon them. Only Congress—not the president—has the authority to scale back that mission, and as promised, each and every time this administration acts unlawfully and harms the people of Michigan, I will take legal action on behalf of the people of our state. Attorney General Dana Nessel