A White House directive freezing federal spending was blocked Tuesday by a D.C. federal judge just before it was set to go into effect at 5 p.m. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The order was sought by a group of nonprofit agencies, including National Council of Nonprofits, the American Public Health Association, the Main Street Alliance, and SAGE, who say the freeze violates federal law and the First Amendment by targeting recipients based on their political views.
Meanwhile, attorneys general in 22 states and the District of Columbia filed a complaint in Rhode Island federal court asking for their own injunction to stop the freeze, which would potentially block $3 trillion in federal aid to their states, including reimbursements for state-run but federally funded Medicaid programs.
State enforcers in New York, California, Massachusetts, Illinois, Rhode Island and New Jersey held a joint press conference on Tuesday afternoon to announce their plan.
By Tuesday evening, they had been joined by D.C., Wisconsin, Washington, Vermont, Oregon, New Mexico, Nevada, North Carolina, Maine, Minnesota, Michigan, Maryland, Hawaii, Delaware, Connecticut, Colorado and Arizona.
The complaints say the administration has violated the Administrative Procedure Act and the constitutional separation of powers.
In their complaint, the states say the order would illegally "permit the federal government to rescind already allocated dollars that have been included in recipient budgets – monies that are otherwise necessary for the plaintiffs to ensure that their residents have quality healthcare, the protections of law enforcement, the benefit of safe roads, and assistance in the aftermath of natural disasters, among many other key services."
The states go on to say that they will be unable to provide essential services and benefits, pay public employees and satisfy other obligations.
The freeze, first announced by the Office of Management and Budget in a memo on Monday evening, has already had an impact on multiple programs, New York Attorney General Letitia James told reporters during the press conference Tuesday afternoon.
"There is no question this policy is reckless, dangerous, illegal and unconstitutional," James said, alleging it violates the Constitution's separation of powers, which delegates spending authority to Congress.
The portal used by states to obtain Medicaid reimbursements was shut down on Tuesday, James and Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said. Other federally funded programs have also stopped disbursing funds, the attorneys general said.
James said the move by the Trump White House puts essential services for millions of Americans at risk.
"We will not stand by while the president breaks the law and oversteps his authority as outlined in our Constitution, a constitution he swore an oath to uphold just one week ago," California Attorney General Rob Bonta said. "It shouldn't be too much to ask that the president follow the law and abide by the federal government's commitments, yet unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, here we are."
The White House, during a press conference Tuesday afternoon and in a memo, sought to clarify the order, with Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt telling reporters that the measure does not apply to individual benefits. An OMB memo released Tuesday said the freeze does not apply to Medicaid benefits.
However, the attorneys general said Monday night's order had thrown both state and federal agencies into chaos and confusion, something Bonta suggested was "deliberate and intentional."
"I think the ambiguity, the lack of precision is by design," Bonta said. "They could have been very precise about what was included and what was not. ... They decided to be vague and use buzzwords like 'wokeism' and 'green New Deal social engineering,' and that confusion, that chilling effect has swept into nearly all of the services and programs the federal government funds outside of what was specifically exempted," Social Security and Medicare.
In the complaint, the states say that the White House's attempt to clarify the order – which they learned of only via a post on X Tuesday afternoon – has only led to increased confusion, with no distinctions among how particular grant programs are treated, and appearing to still include nearly all federal funding, with no time frame for the restoration of funding.
Plaintiffs in the D.C. case are represented by Jessica Anne Morton, Kevin E. Friedl, Kaitlyn Golden, Robin F. Thurston, Skye L. Perryman and Will Bardwell of the Democracy Forward Foundation.
The states are represented by counsel in the attorney general's offices.
Counsel information for the Trump administration was not immediately available.
The cases are National Council of Nonprofits et al. v. Office of Management and Budget et al., case number 25-cv-00239, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and State of New York et al. v. Trump et al., case number 25-cv-00039, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island.
-- Additional reporting by Frank Runyeon. Editing by Marygrace Anderson.
Update: This article has been updated with additional details on the cases.
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