A district judge in Massachusetts has granted a request from California Attorney General Rob Bonta temporarily barring the Federal Emergency Management Agency from redirecting money from a landmark program designed to help states prepare for and avoid disasters.

The court order [PDF] issued Tuesday approves a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration’s FEMA. The agency is seeking to end a program known as Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, or BRIC, without approval from Congress.

Bonta, along with attorneys general and governors of 19 other states, filed a lawsuit on July 16 contending that this is an illegal shuttering of a much-needed program. While the ruling doesn’t release the funds, it does stop them from being used for other purposes until a fin

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