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FEMA cut Aberdeen-Hoquiam flood grant from $47M to $34.65M and delayed it one year as DHS diverted FEMA resources to immigration enforcement

FEMA headquarters overrode a regional approval and reduced the Aberdeen-Hoquiam, Washington flood protection BRIC grant from $47 million to $34.65 million, simultaneously delaying disbursement by one year to September 2026. A congressional ranking-member report published in July 2026 documented that DHS had instructed FEMA to divert agency resources—including staffing and program funds—to immigration enforcement rather than disaster readiness. The action came after a federal judge ruled in December 2025 that the Trump administration had unlawfully terminated the BRIC grant program and ordered its reinstatement.

Jurisdiction
Federal
Location
Washington, D.C.

Abuses documented

Actors

On July 24, 2026, Rep. Emily Randall (D, WA-06) sent a letter to FEMA Acting Administrator Robert Fenton revealing that FEMA headquarters had reduced the Aberdeen-Hoquiam Flood Protection Project's BRIC grant from the $47 million approved by FEMA Region 10 to $34.65 million—a cut of $12.35 million—and delayed disbursement by one year to September 2026. Randall's letter also cited a July 2026 congressional ranking-member report documenting that DHS had instructed FEMA to divert agency resources, including staffing and program funds, away from disaster relief and toward immigration enforcement.

The Aberdeen-Hoquiam project had been allocated $87 million in BRIC grants before FEMA abruptly cancelled the program in April 2025, placing all funds on hold. In December 2025, Judge Richard G. Sterns of the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts ruled that the Trump administration had unlawfully terminated the BRIC grant program. FEMA only relaunched the program on March 18, 2026—after the court issued an order on March 6, 2026 giving FEMA two weeks to comply with the ruling and reinstate the funding.

Despite the court-ordered reinstatement, FEMA headquarters overrode the regional approval and delivered a reduced grant at a delayed timeline. Randall demanded that FEMA provide an updated disbursement timeline, recommit to disbursing the full amount originally approved by FEMA Region 10, and agree to meet to discuss preventing further harm to Washington's 6th Congressional District communities. The diversion of FEMA resources to immigration enforcement, combined with the grant reduction, demonstrates the administration's prioritization of immigration enforcement over congressionally directed disaster-relief capacity and continues a pattern of defiance against federal judicial authority over the BRIC program.

Why we recorded this

FEMA, acting on DHS direction, reduced an already-approved flood protection grant for Aberdeen-Hoquiam, Washington from $47 million to $34.65 million and delayed disbursement by one year, while a congressional report confirmed DHS instructed FEMA to divert agency resources—including staffing and program funds—away from disaster relief and toward immigration enforcement. This action defied a December 2025 federal court ruling that the Trump administration had unlawfully terminated the BRIC grant program. It documents the administration diverting congressionally appropriated disaster-relief capacity to immigration enforcement, leaving flood-vulnerable communities without promised federal protections and establishing a concrete pattern of agency dismantlement under executive direction.

Sources

  1. FEMA fails to deliver already approved funds for Aberdeen-Hoquiam: Rep. Randall demands answers — The Daily World primary accessed July 24, 2026

See also