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Democratic Attorneys General File Lawsuit Against Federal Funding Freeze


— January 29, 2025

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the pause is intended to block funding for programs that the Trump administration opposes, including programs related to DEI and the Green New Deal.


Two dozen Democratic attorneys general are pressing claims against the Trump administration, arguing that a sudden freeze on federal grants, loans, and other assistance has the potential to affect the operations of many different organizations.

According to CBS News, the White House announced the spending freeze on Monday.

By Tuesday, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., issued an administrative stay against the order while hearing a lawsuit filed by the nonprofit Democracy Forward. In court, attorneys for Democracy Forward said that the freeze violates the First Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act.

The New York Times notes that the two-page White House memo instructs federal agencies to “temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all federal financial assistance.” The memo cited concerns relating to “DEI, woke gender ideology, and the Green New Deal.”

A gavel. Image via Wikimedia Commons via Flickr/user: Brian Turner. (CCA-BY-2.0).

California Attorney General Rob Bonta told the New York Times that the order was kept vague “by design,” and appears intended to trigger uncertainty.

Other states have made similar arguments, with Delaware Attorney General Kathleen Jennings saying that a long-term spending freeze will have a “catastrophic” consequences.

“What we’re seeking there is a nationwide injunction that would prevent a spending freeze on federal funding, because it will be catastrophic across the board,” Jennings told Delaware Online.

Jennings said that she and her fellow attorneys general are hoping to secure a restraining order to prevent the freeze from taking effect.

“I mean, every basic service you can imagine would be affected otherwise,” Jennings told Delaware Online. “And so we want to make sure people are getting the benefits that Congress has voted on.”

“Congress is the one that appropriated this money, and we want to make sure that the law is upheld, that Congress appropriates the money and the president can’t just cut it,” she said.

The White House has since clarified that the funding pause will not apply to benefits like Social Security, Medicaid, food stamps, and other assistance that is typically disbursed to individual recipients.

“This is not a blanket pause on federal assistance and grant programs from the Trump administration,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. “However, it is the responsibility of this president and this administration to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars.”

Leavitt said that the pause is intended to block funding for programs that the Trump administration opposes, including programs related to DEI and the Green New Deal.

“President Trump is looking out for you in issuing his pause,” Leavitt said.

Sources

Delaware DOJ moves forward with lawsuit against President Trump’s federal grant freeze

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

Federal Judge Blocks Trump’s Freeze of Federal Grant Funds

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