Democratic states plan to sue over Trump's federal grant funding freeze

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: CBS News

Updated on: January 28, 2025 / 7:50 PM EST


Two dozen Democratic attorneys general said Tuesday afternoon they are suing to stop the White House from instituting a pause to trillions of dollars in federal grant, loan and other aid funding.

A Monday night White House budget office memo called for the spending freeze on federal assistance to begin by 5 p.m. Tuesday, potentially affecting a vast range of programs, from aid to nonprofits and universities to small business loans and state and local government grants. The memo claims some $3 trillion was spent in 2024 on federal assistance programs.

New York, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island said Tuesday they planned to sue, and were soon joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.

"What a ham-handed way to run a government. It is astonishing," said Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Naronha, adding that the memo was "written in such a way that it was barely understandable." California Attorney General Rob Bonta, joining the virtual press conference from the passenger seat of a car, said the memorandum was ambiguous in its wording, "by design."

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-funding-freeze-lawsuit-democratic-attorneys-general/

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Unfortunately, PA now has a GOP AG so you won't be seeing us in these types of suits.

[OldBaldy1701E]

1. Holy crap! "..., North Carolina,..."

This may be the first time in recent memory that I see my home state on the correct side of something. Go NC!

(Yes, I know the AG and the Governor are both Democrats but the party in the state has been all but squashed for so long... nice to see them trying to correct the course of the Old North State!)

[BumRushDaShow]

2. I'm glad

because NC has to make up for the loss of PA's AG position to the GOP this last election.

[OldBaldy1701E]

3. I hope they continue to rise to the occasion.

Unfortunately, the rethugs will not stop until they remove any Democrats from the state legislature.

And, they are still in the position to make that happen.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

4. MaddowBlog-Democratic AGs sue Trump admin over federal grants freeze amid widespread confusion

The question was when, not whether, Trump’s funding freeze would face a legal challenge. A group of Democratic state attorneys general answered soon after.
https://bsky.app/profile/tmfab.bsky.social/post/3lgtnugwvs22l

Link to tweet

The question was when, not whether, Trump’s new policy would face a legal challenge. The public did not have to wait too long for an answer.

In a morning news conference, Schumer told reporters that New York Attorney General Letitia James was “going to court” to contest the White House’s “illegal” move. The senator knew of what he spoke: The state’s Democratic attorney general has, in fact, already filed suit taking aim at the president’s legally dubious spending freeze.

She’s partnering in this case with Democratic attorneys general from 21 other states and the District of Columbia: Rob Bonta of California, Kwame Raoul of Illinois, Andrea Campbell of Massachusetts, Matt Platkin of New Jersey, Peter Neronha of Rhode Island, Kris Mayes of Arizona, Phil Weiser of Colorado, William Tong of Connecticut, Kathy Jennings of Delaware, Brian Schwalb of Washington, D.C., Anne Lopez of Hawaii, Aaron Frey of Maine, Anthony G. Brown of Maryland, Dana Nessel of Michigan, General Keith Ellison of Minnesota, Aaron Ford of Nevada, Jeff Jackson of North Carolina, Raúl Torrez of New Mexico, Dan Rayfield of Oregon, Charity Clark of Vermont, Nicholas W. Brown of Washington and Josh Kaul of Wisconsin.

This lawsuit is separate from a related case filed by a coalition of nonprofits and public health advocates, who collectively asked a federal judge for an emergency order to block the White House’s policy. That judge issued an administrative stay on Tuesday afternoon that pushed the start date of the federal funding freeze to Monday at 5 p.m. ET while litigation plays out......

And while that might’ve sounded reassuring, NBC News also reported on some of the preliminary consequences of Team Trump’s gambit.

Nonprofit organizations reached by NBC News said some of their funding appeared to have already been cut off, and they were scrambling to figure out what the implications could be for their programs, like those providing health care, housing and early childhood education.

There are related reports about state-based Medicaid portals’ shutting down as a result of the White House’s move, though administration officials are apparently working to address this.

As for the likely fate of the new cases, NBC News published a separate report noting that the issue could make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court quickly.

Although the court has a 6-3 conservative majority, including three Trump appointees, legal experts say this could be one of several uphill legal battles the administration has picked. There are also Supreme Court precedents that have acknowledged restrictions on presidential power when it comes to how money is spent. In 1974, around the time the Impoundment Control Act was enacted, the court ruled against the Nixon administration in an attempt to withhold funding aimed at reducing water pollution.

Watch this space.