President Donald Trump's public endorsement of the legal actions facing his federal agency could serve as a complicating factor in the case. | Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images Trump wades into legal battle over Harvey relief funds for churches

President Donald Trump tweeted Friday in support of churches seeking federal reimbursements for assisting in Hurricane Harvey disaster relief efforts, wading into an ongoing legal fight between local religious institutions and his own administration.

“Churches in Texas should be entitled to reimbursement from FEMA Relief Funds for helping victims of Hurricane Harvey (just like others),” the president wrote on Twitter late Friday.


On Monday three Texas churches sued the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) demanding access to disaster relief funds generally provided to nondenominational non-profits but not religious institutions.

Trump’s call for the churches to be treated “just like others” could be seen as a call for equal treatment of secular non-profits and religiously-based organizations in how FEMA divvies up its disaster relief funds. It is unclear whether President Trump’s call would similarly apply to mosques, synagogues and other religious institutions potentially damaged in Texas during the storm.

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The three institutions — The Harvest Family Church, the Hi-Way Tabernacle and the Rockport First Assembly of God — are seeking an emergency injunction preventing FEMA from enforcing its policy of excluding religious institutions from received funds, according to local reports.

“The churches are not seeking special treatment; they are seeking a fair shake,” the lawsuit reads. “And they need to know now whether they have any hope of counting on FEMA or whether they will continue to be excluded entirely from these FEMA programs.”

All three churches are said in the lawsuit to have sustained damage while assisting in disaster relief efforts. The Hi-Way Tabernacle, as well as the Rockport First Assembly of God, was severely flooded while it served as a staging center for the federal agency. It is said to have sheltered 70 people and distributed more than 8,000 emergency meals.

Though President Trump did not explicitly reference the churches by name, the public endorsement of the legal actions facing his federal agency could serve as a complicating factor in the case.