Judge tells Trump administration to comply with ruling to send disaster aid to North Carolina

Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi, The News & Observer (Raleigh) on Mar 9, 2026

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RALEIGH, N.C. — A federal judge has agreed to force the Trump administration to restore a federal disaster preparedness program, after an initial order in late December already called on it to do so.

The judge approved a motion from North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson and a coalition of fellow Democratic attorneys general seeking the funding.

In North Carolina, the program was set to provide nearly $225 million in grant funding for 72 open projects selected by the Federal Emergency Management Agency over four years to prepare for disasters and make infrastructure more resilient.

“FEMA tried to cancel $200 million for North Carolina,” said Jackson in a news release on Friday. “We took them to court, we won, and then they defied the court order and refused to pay. So we just took them back to court — and won again. FEMA has 14 days to show the court they are complying. The clock is ticking, and we are ready to do this again if necessary.”

The judge’s order follows a lawsuit last year from Jackson and other attorneys general calling on the federal government to release the funding and reinstate the program; a favorable ruling from the court; and a subsequent motion from Jackson and others calling on the judge to enforce the ruling, saying it had not been followed.

U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns said in his ruling that FEMA has not carried out several court orders such as an order to reinstate a canceled 2024 notice seeking applicants for the funding.

The judge also wrote there “is no indication” that the agency intends to issue a 2025 notice of funding.

Stearns acknowledged that some delays can be attributed to staffing shortages resulting from layoffs and the budgetary freeze. The federal government is in a partial shutdown, with Congress unable to agree on funding for the Department of Homeland Security. President Donald Trump also ousted and replaced DHS Secretary Kristi Noem this month. And FEMA Acting Administrator David Richardson stepped down in November.

The judge ordered FEMA to, within 14 days of Friday’s order, tell states the status of all projects and report on steps remaining to reverse the termination of the preparedness program and the expected timeline for doing so, as well as when a notice of funding will be issued for 2025 and 2026. Within 21 days, the judge also called on FEMA to issue a notice of funding for 2024.

Prior filings

In July, Jackson joined a lawsuit alongside other Democratic attorneys general from 20 other states after FEMA announced in April 2025 that the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program was ending. This came as the Trump administration was also considering eliminating FEMA entirely. The BRIC program was expanded with bipartisan congressional support during the first Trump administration.

Stearns ruled in December that FEMA lacked authority to shut down the BRIC program without congressional approval and ordered the agency to restore the program and move forward with approved grants. In that order, the court required FEMA to “promptly take all steps necessary to reverse the termination of the BRIC program.”

But, according to Jackson and the other attorneys general, the Trump administration was ignoring the court order requiring it to restore the program.

A FEMA spokesperson said in an email following that filing in February that “FEMA and DHS are complying with court orders.” FEMA did not reply to questions from The News & Observer about if and when the agency planned to resume the program and release the approved funds.

Over the last four years, nearly 2,000 projects have been selected to receive almost $4.5 billion in funding.

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