Judge: Treasury not dragging feet on tribes’ funds

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — The U.S. Treasury Department is not unreasonably delaying the release of coronavirus relief funding to Native American tribes, a federal judge ruled this week.

The department is tasked with disbursing $8 billion to tribes that was included in a relief package approved in late March. The payments didn’t start going out until more than a week after the April 26 deadline set by Congress, and 40 percent of the money is being withheld.

Despite that, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington, D.C., rejected an assertion that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was “twiddling his thumbs.” Congress required Mnuchin to consult with tribes and the Interior Department before sending any payments, making the job more difficult.

The Treasury Department estimated it has spent about 2,200 hours so far on the effort.

Mehta said that amount of work should have produced better results but doesn’t justify court intervention.