A coalition of eleven states and Kentucky filed a lawsuit in Oregon challenging DHS and FEMA changes to the Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) and the Homeland Security Grant Program, arguing the new terms and faster spend timelines unlawfully threaten disaster readiness and public safety.

The plaintiffs contend the grants remain vital funding sources for state and local emergency management, covering staff, training, equipment, and incident response, and warn that reduced capacity could impair hurricane and disaster response.

FEMA tightened the disbursement window for both grants from three years to one year, creating obstacles to effectively using the funds and prompting critics to call the changes illegal and politically motivated.

States fear the new restrictions shift more emergency management burdens to states, potentially producing a patchwork national disaster response and undermining coordinated federal support.

North Carolina officials have expressed frustration with FEMA over disaster funding administration, including Senate holds on DHS nominees, highlighting broader tensions between state and federal agencies.

Michigan’s Attorney General leads the suit, part of a pattern of challenges to FEMA funding changes during the Trump era aimed at recalibrating federal disaster roles.

Nevada’s attorney general and state officials say the grant terms are illegal and would hinder safety operations, calling them politically driven and nearly impossible to meet.

The Oregon Capital Chronicle is the outlet reporting this develop­ment, with Mia Maldonado as the correspondent.

The funds support critical state activities such as incident management, statewide communications and warnings, and maintaining emergency operations centers, with North Carolina noting their importance for hurricane response.

DHS and FEMA defend the changes as a methodical effort to ensure federal dollars are used effectively and aligned with current threats and national priorities.

The complaint alleges the hold on funds and new requirements threaten rapid disaster response, especially during hurricane season, by altering funding timelines and procedures.

The lawsuit names ten attorneys general and Kentucky’s governor as co-plaintiffs, with DHS Secretary and FEMA leadership targeted in the action filed in U.S. District Court in Eugene, Oregon.