(Washington State) Washington state today joined 21 other states suing the Trump administration over its illegal freeze of all federal financial assistance, which directly threatens the health and safety of Washingtonians reliant on a variety of federally funded programs by potentially withholding billions in funds from the state.
The direction issued Monday by the federal Office of Management and Budget to pause financial assistance programs could impact childcare and special education grants, highway planning and construction dollars, energy cost assistance rebates, substance abuse treatment, and nursing care for veterans, among other programs.
The White House says the pause is to ensure the funds are “advancing Administration priorities.”
“The White House justifies this damaging move with culture war alarmism, but in reality they’re robbing governments and service providers of funds that keep people safe and serve urgent needs in all of our communities,” Attorney General Nick Brown said. “People’s jobs are at stake. Services for veterans are at risk. Health care and education would be taken from children. Programs that support crime victims could vanish. These examples are the tip of the iceberg.”
If funding is cut off for these programs, even temporarily, it would interfere with critical state programs, drastically worsen Washington’s budget shortfall, and make it nearly impossible for state agencies and the Legislature to intelligently prioritize budgeting needs.
“Presidents have significant powers and elections have consequences,” Gov. Bob Ferguson said. “However, President Trump’s refusal or inability to advance his priorities in a lawful and constitutional manner is creating needless and cruel chaos. We’re confident that the courts will, once again, determine that he is exceeding his authority.”
The administration’s memo does not explain any legal authority for this action, because they have none.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for Rhode Island, lays out the various ways the Trump administration is breaking federal law by freezing a broad swath of financial assistance programs beyond the scope of its authority while also usurping the role of Congress.
The complaint seeks to enjoin the Trump administration from enforcing or implementing the memo and requests a judicial declaration that the memo is unlawful.
Read the filing here.
This lawsuit is led by the attorneys general of New York, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island. Joining the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.
