Judge sides with Treasury in tribes’ coronavirus relief case

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A federal judge has sided with the Treasury Department in a case that challenged the distribution of coronavirus relief aid to Native American governments. Tribal governments had received $4.8 billion from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act based on federal population data.

Three tribes in Oklahoma, Florida, and Kansas sued over the methodology, alleging they were shortchanged by millions of dollars. The Treasury Department ultimately revised the methodology and sent additional payments to some tribes. However, two of the tribes weren’t satisfied with the amounts and continued their legal challenge.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled on Friday that the Treasury’s methodology was reasonable.