Virginia joins Democrat-led lawsuit against FEMA, Homeland Security

(The Center Square) – Virginia is a participant in litigation seeking relief from FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security as the federal departments withhold money states use to fund counterterrorism and disaster response efforts.

Virginia in 2023 received $8.7 million through the Homeland Security Grant Program and the Emergency Management Performance Grant. The federal taxpayer money is used for purchases such as equipment for bomb squads, active shooter exercises, cyberattacks, natural disaster response, assessment of flood risks, management of wildfires, and search and rescue.

Filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, first-term Democratic state Attorney General Jay Jones affixed Virginia to the list of plaintiffs led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha. Defendants are FEMA, Robert Fenton as senior offi...