New York City sued the Trump administration last Friday, demanding the return of approximately $ 80 million in federal disaster aid funds that were abruptly withdrawn this month in what the City Council described as a “financial maneuver”.
The funds in question were provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under an agreement reached during the Biden Administration to help the city recover the expenses derived from the attention to tens of thousands of migrants who began to reach the large apple in 2022. However, on February 11, FEMA – now under a new direction – more than $ 80 million of a bank account of the city without prior notice.
The City Council states that this action violated “the federal regulations and the terms of the Shelter and Service Program subsidies”, in addition to representing an abuse of the federal government authority.
“There is no doubt that our immigration system is broken, but the cost of handling an international humanitarian crisis should not exceed a single city,” said Mayor Eric Adams when announcing demand. “The $ 80 million that FEMA approved, paid and then withdrew – after the city spent more than $ 7 billion in the last three years – they are the minimum that our taxpayers deserve. That is why we will work to ensure that the residents of our city receive every dollar that is due to them.”
The lawsuit argues that the Trump administration withdrew the funds in a “financial maneuver” because “they oppose the purposes for which they were assigned, approved and paid.” The city’s corporate lawyer, Muriel Goode-Trufant, explained that the demand seeks not only to recover the $ 80 million, but also to ensure that the federal government does not return to a similar seizure in the future.
In addition to Trump, among the defendants are the Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Besent, and the Secretary of National Security, Kristi Noem. FEMA is under the direction of the Department of National Security.
The lawsuit was filed at the Federal Court of the Southern District of New York, more than a week after the city computers, Brad Lander, demanded that the legal department of the city take measures against the Trump administration for the withdrawal of funds.
Although Mayor Adams did not directly mention President Trump or Elon Musk (head of the Government Efficiency Department (Doge), who has been executing cuts in the federal government), Lander accused them in their own statement, while praising the lawyers who are “facing” the alleged collusion between Trump and Adams.
“After my office discovered that Elon Musk and his Doge team stole $ 80 million from the city’s coffers, we managed to press Mayor Adams to allow the city’s lawyers They deserve recognition, and we hope Donald Trump returns the money that stole New York. ”
The lawsuit was filed a few hours after a federal judge canceled the Criminal Adams for fraud in its electoral campaign, a case that Trump’s department seeks to dismiss. However, the judge is appointed an independent lawyer to argue against dismissal before making a final decision. The audiences are scheduled for March.
