New York City files lawsuit against Trump administration over revoked $80M in FEMA funds
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- New York City has filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration for the $80 million "money grab" of FEMA funding for the migrant crisis that was secretly taken from the city's bank accounts.
The funds were paid to reimburse expenses already spent on the asylum-seeker international humanitarian crisis that came to New York City's doorstep in the spring of 2022 under a FEMA program to assist localities bearing the brunt of costs of providing shelter and services to individuals released by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) into U.S. communities.
The suit claims the federal government removed the funds from the city's bank account on February 11, that were paid out by FEMA.
"With very little help from the federal government, our administration has skillfully managed an unprecedented crisis, which has seen over 231,000 people enter our city asking for shelter. The $80 million that FEMA approved, paid, and then rescinded - after the city spent more than $7 billion in the last three years - is the bare minimum our taxpayers deserve. And that's why we're going to work to ensure our city's residents get every dollar they are owed. Thank you to Corporation Counsel Goode-Trufant and the entire team at the Law Department for working to ensure New York taxpayers can start to be made whole again." Mayor Eric Adams said.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander released a statement about the lawsuit.
"After my office discovered that Elon Musk and his DOGE goon squad stole $80 million out of the City's coffers, we successfully pressured Mayor Adams to allow the City's lawyers to sue the federal government to get our money back. The lawyers who are standing up to President Trump and Eric Adams' collusion deserve praise and we look forward to Donald Trump returning the money he stole from New York," City Comproller Brad Lander said.
Friday's suit - filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York - argues that the letter is a mere cover to mask the real purpose of defendants' "money-grab," which - as many have stated publicly - is to withhold the funds permanently because they oppose the purposes for which the funds were appropriated, awarded, approved, and paid.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has floated the idea of "getting rid of" the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Trump said the agency has been "a very big disappointment" and "it's very slow."
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