Federal judge rules Trump administration cannot reallocate billions meant for disaster mitigation
U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns in Boston granted a preliminary injunction sought by 20 Democrat-led states while their lawsuit over the funding moves ahead.
The states argue the Federal Emergency Management Agency lacks the authority to end the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program and redirect more than $4 billion of its funding. The program aims to harden infrastructure around the country against potential storm damage.
FEMA initially announced it was ending the program, but later said in a court filing that it was evaluating it.
'Although the Government equivocates about whether it has, in fact, ended the BRIC program, the States' evidence of steps taken by FEMA to implement the announced termination portend the conclusion that a determination has in fact been made and that FEMA is inching towards a fait accompli,' Stearns wrote in his ruling. 'The agency has cancelled new funding opportunities and informed stakeholders that they should no longer expect to obtain any unobligated funds.'
Noting money for the program was allocated by Congress, the states' lawsuit says any attempt to redirect it would run afoul of the Constitution.
A lawyer for the government, Nicole O'Connor, argued at a hearing in July that the funds can be used both for disaster recovery and disaster prevention and that FEMA should have discretion to use the money how it sees fit.
The program has provided grants for a range of disaster management projects, including strengthening electrical grids, constructing levees for flood protection and relocating vulnerable water treatment facilities. Many of the projects are in rural communities.
FEMA said in a news release in April that it was 'ending' the program, but the agency's acting chief, David Richardson, later said in a court filing that FEMA was merely evaluating whether to end or revise it.
The states, including California, New York and Washington, argue that the threat of losing the funding alone has put numerous projects at risk of being cancelled, delayed or downsized. And they warn ending the program would be highly imprudent.
'By proactively fortifying our communities against disasters before they strike, rather than just responding afterward, we will reduce injuries, save lives, protect property, and, ultimately, save money that would otherwise be spent on post-disaster costs,' they wrote in the suit filed in July.
FEMA said in a court filing an injunction on its use of the funds could hamper its ability to respond to major disasters.
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
NYC mayoral hopeful Curtis Sliwa's group bills itself a charity despite losing tax-exempt status
NEW YORK —Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa's crime prevention group, the Guardian Angels, is soliciting donations while portraying itself as a tax-exempt charity — even though it was stripped of that status years ago amid tax issues and legal troubles involving the organization's longtime treasurer, according to a Daily News review of federal and state records. The Guardian Angels, which Sliwa founded in 1979 and still controls as CEO, hasn't filed a 990 Form with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service since 2019, the IRS's publicly available nonprofit database shows. In that database, the group's legal business name is listed as Alliance of Guardian Angels, Inc. The 990 Form is the equivalent of a tax return for a charitable organization, and due to the Guardian Angels' failure to file 990s three years in a row, the IRS revoked its tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charity designation in November 2022, per a notice included on the group's profile in the database. The revocation came a year after Rafael Alvarez, the Guardian Angels' now-former treasurer, landed in trouble with the U.S. Department of Justice, which forced his accounting firm, ATAX, to shutter permanently in 2021 due to a suspicion he was filing fraudulent returns for clients — a case that eventually resulted in Alvarez pleading guilty to criminal charges. Despite the charity status, the Guardian Angels has continued to describe itself as a 501(c)(3) group on its website, including on a page where it's asking supporters for money. 'The Alliance of Guardian Angels is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization founded in 1979 in New York City,' a banner reads on the page soliciting contributions via a big red 'donate' button that sends supporters to a PayPal page if they click it. 'Our mission is to provide positive role models for today's youth and work toward promoting community safety and betterment for the good of society overall.' According to legal experts, falsely portraying a group as a 501(c)(3) can result in fines and even criminal charges, especially if the misrepresentation involves the solicitation of donations. Taxpayers who donate to nonprofit charities who've lost their 501(c)(3) status can, in turn, also end up getting in trouble with the IRS if they claim their contributions as tax deductible. 'When a charitable nonprofit is no longer recognized as tax-exempt, it will be required to pay income taxes on revenue, including donations, and donors will no longer be able to deduct contributions to the organization,' according to the National Council of Nonproifts. IRS' press office didn't immediately return a request for comment this week. In addition to the IRS delinquencies, the Guardian Angels hasn't submitted tax filings with the New York state attorney general's office as required since 2019, either, an AG spokeswoman confirmed. The spokeswoman wouldn't comment further, but the AG's office typically works with delinquent nonprofits to try to get them into compliance before taking any enforcement action. Sliwa's campaign referred questions to Mario Kranjac, an attorney for the Guardian Angels, who blamed the filing failures on Alvarez, who served as the group's treasurer for over a decade and was personally friendly with Sliwa. Kranjac said the Guardian Angels believed all tax returns had been filed properly by Alvarez. 'Curtis Sliwa had no involvement in financial filings,' said Kranjac, an ex-mayor of Englewood, N.J. who mounted an unsuccessful Republican bid for governor of the state this year. 'The Guardian Angels are allowed to continue operating and are taking steps to correct the issue with counsel.' The tax troubles involving the Guardian Angels, whose members have been known for doing street and subway 'safety patrols,' are emerging as Sliwa is gearing up his GOP bid for mayor ahead of November's election. The revelations about the tax filing failures — and previously unreported details about Alvarez's role in the Guardian Angels' finances — could cast a shadow over Sliwa as he campaigns heavily on an anti-corruption message. It also raises questions about how, as mayor, Sliwa would manage a city with an annual budget of $116 billion, in addition to his own campaign, which just on Wednesday received $1.9 million in public matching funds. Alvarez served as the Guardian Angels' treasurer between 2010 and 2024, per his LinkedIn profile. Before the Guardians abruptly stopped submitting 990s, Alvarez and his accounting firm used to prepare and handle all of the group's federal and state tax filings, The News' review found. In those filings, Alvarez identified himself both as the group's treasurer and accountant. An attorney for Alvarez — who's currently in prison — didn't say why he stopped filing the group's taxes in 2019. The attorney, Michael Bachrach, did say he wasn't sure whether Alvarez ever filed fraudulent tax forms for the Guardian Angels. 'There were over 80,000 tax returns disclosed in discovery in that case, some fraudulent and other perfectly lawful,' said Bachrach. 'I don't recall whether Guardian Angels were amongst them.' When Alvarez had his firm shuttered by the feds in June 2021, he was already under criminal investigation by the DOJ over suspicions he had helped clients file tax returns with the IRS claiming fraudulent deductions for fictitious charity donations, medical costs and other expenses in order to lower their tax burdens, according to his indictment and other filings made in his case. In April 2024, the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office indicted Alvarez on charges alleging he had orchestrated a sprawling tax fraud scheme between 2010 and 2020 — spanning the period when he was handling the Guardian Angels' books — in which he and his firm stole $145 million from the IRS. His indictment alleged Alvarez was known as 'The Magician' among his clients because of the advanced methods he used to defraud the IRS. This spring, Alvarez was sentenced to four years in prison, ordered to forfeit more than $11 million and pay, together with any clients identified as having participated in the scheme, $145 million in restitution to the U.S. government. Alvarez's indictment doesn't identify his clients, but prosecutors wrote in court papers this spring some of them are being made to pay years' worth of back taxes. The Guardian Angels, which as a 501(c)(3) was exempt from most — but not all — federal and state taxes, isn't referenced in Alvarez's indictment and hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing. Sliwa and Alvarez go back personally, and he has over the years hyped up Alvarez's business many times on the radio. Speaking on his talk radio show in 2012, Sliwa called Alvarez 'my very cumpà,' Italian slang that translates to close friend, and told listeners in need of tax help: 'You need to talk to a professional, and the best is Rafael Alvarez.' Sliwa's group also gave Alvarez its coveted 'Red Beret Award' in 2011. On the campaign trail, Sliwa has vowed to turn the page on the dysfunction and corruption he argues has marred Mayor Adams' time at City Hall, pointing to the incumbent's federal bribery indictment, which was quashed this spring by President Trump's DOJ as part of a controversial arrangement. Sliwa ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2021, clinching about 28% compared to the 67% received by Adams, the Democratic mayoral nominee in that race. Sliwa's seen as having a better shot this year, as the city's Democratic vote could be fractured by the fact that, in addition to Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, Adams and Andrew Cuomo are running on independent lines on the November ballot. Attorney Jim Walden is on an independent line as well. Mamdani continues to poll as the favorite to win the November contest, with most surveys predicting Cuomo as the runner-up candidate. Sliwa has in a number of polls placed third, pulling more support than Adams. _____
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump Says He'll Likely Name Temporary Fed Governor to Open Seat
(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump indicated he would likely nominate a temporary Federal Reserve governor to fill the soon-to-be vacant seat on the central bank's board within the coming days, rather than use the seat to signal his choice to replace Jerome Powell as chairman. All Hail the Humble Speed Hump Mayor Asked to Explain $1.4 Billion of Wasted Johannesburg Funds Three Deaths Reported as NYC Legionnaires' Outbreak Spreads Major Istanbul Projects Are Stalling as City Leaders Sit in Jail PATH Train Service Resumes After Fire at Jersey City Station 'We're probably going to go with the temp and then a permanent,' Trump told reporters Wednesday at the White House. 'I think the temp is going to be named, I'd say, over the next two, three days, and then we're going to go permanent.' Fed Governor Adriana Kugler announced last week that she plans to vacate her role on Aug. 8. That gives Trump a choice. He can elevate someone to serve out the rest of her term, which expires in January, and keep weighing his options for the more prominent chair role, or he can make a decision on the Fed chair role months earlier than he'd planned and announce that now. Several of those on Trump's Fed short list are outsiders, and the president isn't guaranteed to get another chance to name a new board member before Powell's term as chair expires in May. While Fed chairs typically step off the board when they step down, he does have the option to stay on and deny Trump a second opening. Powell's underlying post as a governor extends into 2028 and he has so far declined to reveal his plans. Advisers had encouraged the president to name a short-term pick first, simply to complete Kugler's term that expires in January. That approach would give Trump weeks or months more to interview candidates to serve as chair. And it's the strategy Trump said Wednesday he's leaning toward. Trump said he was considering 'probably' three candidates for the temporary position, adding that they could come from Wall Street. 'Yeah, essentially, we're all from Wall Street, aren't we, when you get right down to it?' Trump said. He added that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Vice President JD Vance were among the advisers participating in the process. Separately, Trump reiterated that he considered 'the two Kevins' — former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett — as top candidates for the Fed Chair role when it becomes open. --With assistance from Justin Sink. (Updates with additional details on Fed timing and selection process starting in fourth paragraph.) Russia's Secret War and the Plot to Kill a German CEO The Pizza Oven Startup With a Plan to Own Every Piece of the Pie AI Flight Pricing Can Push Travelers to the Limit of Their Ability to Pay Government Steps Up Campaign Against Business School Diversity The GOP Is Choosing Pesticides Over the MAHA Moms ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CNN
5 minutes ago
- CNN
Judge considers whether Florida's ‘Alligator Alcatraz' detention center violates environmental law
Miami (AP) — A federal judge heard arguments Wednesday over whether to stop construction of an immigration detention center — built in the middle of the Florida Everglades and dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz' — because it didn't follow environmental laws. Until the laws are followed, environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe said U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams should issue a preliminary injunction to halt operations and further construction. The suit claims the project threatens environmentally sensitive wetlands that are home to protected plants and animals and would reverse billions of dollars' worth of environmental restoration. The lawsuit in Miami against federal and state authorities is one of two legal challenges to the South Florida detention center which was built more than a month ago by the state of Florida on an isolated airstrip owned by Miami-Dade County. A second lawsuit brought by civil rights groups says detainees' constitutional rights are being violated since they are barred from meeting lawyers, are being held without any charges, and a federal immigration court has canceled bond hearings. A hearing in that case is scheduled for Aug. 18. The detention facility has ignored a review process required by the National Environmental Policy Act, and the lawsuit was meant to assert the public's rights to make sure environmental harm does not occur, Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, testified in court Wednesday. The new detention facility would likely lead to an immediate reduction in habitat for endangered Florida panthers and would likely increase the risk of panthers killing each other or being hit by vehicles, Randy Kautz, a wildlife ecologist and former Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission researcher, testified. Kautz cited studies showing panthers generally stay at least 650 feet (200 meters) from areas with human activity and 1,600 feet (500 meters) away from bright artificial lights at night, translating to about 2,000 acres (800 hectares) of potentially lost habitat surrounding 'Alligator Alcatraz.' Florida Rep. Anna Eskamani, who took a July 12 tour of the facility with other state and federal lawmakers, in court described an active construction site with recently-erected tents, new asphalt and temporary lights. Florida Division of Emergency Management director Kevin Guthrie told members of the tour that the facility would be able to hold 4,000 detainees by the end of August and the center had about 1,000 workers, some of whom lived at the facility and others who commuted, said Eskamani, an Orlando Democrat. Jessica Namath, a member of Friends of the Everglades, testified that she's been protesting near the entrance of the detention facility regularly since it opened. She described seeing a constant parade of work trucks and other heavy machinery. She said she's been visiting the Everglades and the area around the detention center for years, and it now looks 'heartbreakingly different.' Namath is the daughter of Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath, who attended Wednesday's hearing but didn't speak. Under the 55-year-old federal environmental law, federal agencies should have examined how the detention center's construction would impact the environment, identified ways to minimize the impact and followed other procedural rules such as allowing public comment, according to the environmental groups and the tribe. It makes no difference that the detention center holding hundreds of detainees was built by the state of Florida since federal agencies have authority over immigration, the suit said. Attorneys for federal and state agencies last week asked Williams to dismiss or transfer the injunction request, saying the lawsuit was filed in the wrong jurisdiction. Even though the property is owned by Miami-Dade County, Florida's southern district is the wrong venue for the lawsuit since the detention center is located in neighboring Collier County, which is in the state's middle district, they said. Williams had yet to rule on that argument. The lawsuits were being heard as Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis ′ administration apparently was preparing to build a second immigration detention center at a Florida National Guard training center in north Florida. At least one contract has been awarded for what's labeled in state records as the 'North Detention Facility.'
