Following Lawsuit, Trump Tweets that TX Churches Should Be Entitled to FEMA Reimbursement

Three Texas churches that sustained damage from Hurricane Harvey filed a lawsuit against the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for not being given relief due to their their religious affiliation.

Per LawNewz:

The churches claim FEMA unconstitutionally denies those funds to places of worship in violation of the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause because FEMA treats them differently than other non-profits.

The three churches, Hi-Way Tabernacle, the Harvest Family Church, and the Rockport First Assembly of God, say the following in their suit:

FEMA policy explicitly denies equal access to FEMA disaster relief grants for houses of worship solely because of their religious status. If FEMA applies its policy to Hurricane Harvey, as it did to Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Katrina, hundreds of churches, synagogues, and other houses of worship will be denied equal access to FEMA relief. For houses of worship, FEMA’s policy is “simple: No churches need apply.”

And it now appears the churches have some major support:

Churches in Texas should be entitled to reimbursement from FEMA Relief Funds for helping victims of Hurricane Harvey (just like others).

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 9, 2017

President Trump expressed his support for the three churches, tweeting “Churches in Texas should be entitled to reimbursement from FEMA Relief Funds for helping victims of Hurricane Harvey (just like others).”

Fox News’ Martha MacCallum touched upon this news on The Story an hour before the President tweeted, with guests Mike Huckabee and Karl Rove:

[image via screengrab]

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