22 states and the District of Columbia sue to stop Trump Administration from withholding essential federal funding
Lawsuit filed in United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island
Update: United States District Judge Loren AliKhan has temporarily blocked the Trump administration freeze on federal grants and loans till Monday, February 3.
From various press releases and independent reporting:
Attorney General Peter Neronha is co-leading a coalition of 23 attorneys general suing to stop the implementation of a new Trump Administration policy that orders the withholding of trillions of dollars in funding that every state in the country relies on to provide essential services to millions of Americans. The action has been filed in the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island.
The new policy, issued by the President’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB), puts an indefinite pause on the majority of federal assistance to states. The policy would immediately jeopardize state programs that provide critical health and childcare services to families in need, deliver support to public schools, combat hate crimes and violence against women, provide life-saving disaster relief to states, and more. Attorney General Neronha and the coalition of attorneys general are seeking a court order to immediately stop the enforcement of the OMB policy and preserve essential funding.
This funding freeze threatens:
Medicaid services for Rhode Islanders;
Children’s early education and child care for families by pausing Head Start programs;
Domestic violence assistance programs;
Funding for major infrastructure projects like the replacement of the Washington Bridge;
Community health centers;
Grants for local law enforcement and homeland security activities; and
Federal funding for K-12 schools.
“Any pause to federal funding programs would have immediate and catastrophic effects for Rhode Islanders and Americans everywhere,” said Attorney General Neronha. “Such a pause, which OMB announced last night without a definitive end, would result in financial chaos for everyday programs on which people rely to survive, including programs related to health care and food for children. States everywhere receive billions in federal grants that support public safety, education, transportation, the environment, and more. If this funding pause is allowed, its devastating impact will be widespread and dangerous, as these programs touch many Americans in one way or another, whether they realize it or not. Illegal attempts by the Executive Branch to abruptly sever access to crucial funding sources with less than a day’s notice is reckless and will be met with immediate action to stop such measures.”
Announcing the lawsuit via a Zoom call with the press, Attorney General Neronha said:
"What a ham-handed way to run a government. It is astonishing that President Trump, through an agency most Americans have never heard of, would take an action so clearly unlawful and would impact so many Americans in so many ways.
"From our very beginning, we as Americans have had a compact with our federal government; that is, we pay taxes, and those taxes go to Washington, but we expect those monies to come back to us as allocated by our Congress. That is the way that we build our roads and bridges. That is the way that we educate our children. That is the way that we take care of our seniors. It is the way we support law enforcement, and that has been our tradition for nearly 300 years now, thrown out by a president in a memo after six o’clock Eastern time and written in such a way that it is barely understandable.
"It leaves us with no choice. When a President takes unconstitutional action of this nature to act and to act quickly, every American, every Rhode Islander, is impacted by this. If you drive on a road, you’re impacted. If you get healthcare, you’re impacted. If your children are being educated in our schools, you’re impacted. If you believe in public safety, if you’re a man or a woman in blue, and all of us who they protect, you are impacted by this blatantly unlawful and unconstitutional action.
"Congress has committed this money to the states. Our states are relying on this money to serve our residents, so this action was necessary, and it needed to happen quickly. I’m grateful for the great work of the men and women in our offices across the country who worked so hard to get this done quickly."
The OMB policy, issued late on January 27, directs all federal agencies to indefinitely pause the majority of federal assistance funding and loans to states and other entities beginning at 5:00 pm today, January 28. As Attorney General Neronha and the coalition note in their lawsuit, OMB’s policy has caused immediate chaos and uncertainty for millions of Americans who rely on state programs that receive these federal funds. Essential community health centers, addiction and mental health treatment programs, services for people with disabilities, and other critical health services are jeopardized by OMB’s policy.
Attorney General Neronha and the coalition also argue that jeopardizing state funds will put Americans in danger by depriving law enforcement of much-needed resources. OMB’s policy would pause support for the United States Department of Justice's initiatives to combat hate crimes and violence against women, support community policing, and provide services to victims of crimes. In addition, Attorney General Neronha and the coalition of attorneys general note that the OMB policy calls into question critical highway funding, including funding that the state would rely on for rebuilding the Washington Bridge and other important projects.
While the administration has attempted to clarify the scope and meaning of the OMB policy, states have already reported that funds have been frozen, jeopardizing services like Medicaid across the country. As part of their lawsuit, Attorney General Neronha and the coalition of attorneys general argue that OMB’s policy violates the Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act by imposing a government-wide stop to spending without regard for the laws and regulations governing each source of federal funding. The attorneys general argue that the president cannot decide to unilaterally override laws governing federal spending and that OMB’s policy unconstitutionally overrides Congress’s power to decide how federal funds are spent.
This lawsuit was led by the attorneys general of Rhode Island, New York, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. Joining the lawsuit are 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.
“President Trump’s disruptive blanket suspension of these federal funds threatens real harm to Americans everywhere,” said United States Senator Jack Reed. “Trump’s directive is already sewing confusion and chaos with respect to health care, education, housing, disaster aid, and more. Organizations and several states, including Rhode Island, are initiating legal action. But there is a much quicker, less costly solution here: President Trump should immediately rescind this reckless and unconstitutional directive. He needs to do it fast because every day this drags on the impacts grow worse. He should stop wasting taxpayers’ money and putting people, communities, and essential services at risk.
“I will continue working to halt this irresponsible freeze and ensure federal resources are administered in accordance with the law.”
“Trump’s power grab was plucked directly from the Project 2025 playbook,” said Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. “Rhode Islanders pay their taxes, and they expect to get a functioning federal government in return. It’s hard to tell if this is incompetence or mischief, but this funding freeze is illegal and unconstitutional, and every single American has a stake in getting it undone.”
“Donald Trump has thrown the country into chaos by announcing his intention to illegally block funding from programs that people rely on for health care, food, public safety, education, and other essential needs,” said Rhode Island Representative Seth Magaziner. “I have been hearing from service providers, small businesses, and everyday Rhode Islanders who are worried about the impact that this order will have. The guidance being circulated by the administration is vague and contradictory, and the order itself is almost certainly unconstitutional.
“I will continue to fight for Rhode Islanders by appealing to the Trump Administration to continue to fund programs that Congress has approved and the people of Rhode Island depend on.”
On Wednesday, January 29, Representative Magaziner held a press conference on the cuts. Here’s the video:
“With the stroke of a pen, Trump and his billionaire loyalists are robbing cancer patients of medication, families of food, and Americans of paychecks for serving our communities,” said Working Families Party’s New England Regional Director Georgia Hollister Isman. “Already, numerous state agencies across the country are reporting they are not able to access federal funds, including a shutdown of the Medicaid payment system.
“Every lawmaker needs to fight tooth and nail against this chaos and cruelty. In blue states like Rhode Island, that fight starts by making sure our State budget — the money that regular working people generate to run our government — serves the majority of Rhode Islanders, not the multi-millionaires and billionaires who brought Trump to power.
“Governor Daniel McKee and Rhode Island leadership need to meet this moment by breaking the logjams they’ve imposed that block the funding and services working people depend on. There are sides to this fight, and they need to prove that Rhode Island’s government is ready and willing to fight for working people.”
Here’s the full audio of the attorneys’ general press call:
February 7: Attorney General Neronha files motion to enforce a court order to unfreeze federal funding
Attorney General Neronha co-led a coalition of 23 attorneys general in filing a motion for enforcement of their ongoing lawsuit against President Trump over his administration’s funding freeze. The freeze would put an indefinite pause on the majority of federal funding and financial assistance, jeopardizing vital programs that support families, promote public safety, and provide essential services to communities nationwide.
Citing evidence of ongoing disruptions impacting disbursements to states and federal funds that remain blocked under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Infrastructure, Investment, and Jobs Act (IIJA) despite the court’s Temporary Restraining Order (TRO), the coalition also seeks to enforce the TRO to require the Trump Administration to disperse these funds. The motion further highlights the harm states face if funds under the IRA and the IIJA are not allocated as required by statute.
“As long as this Administration continues to break the law, we will continue our fight to uphold it,” said Attorney General Neronha. “When Judge McConnell granted our TRO last Friday, he ordered the resumption of all federal funding that had been previously severed by the Administration’s new OMB policy. And yet, since then, states and federal funding recipients across the country have reported trouble accessing their congressionally allocated funds. These lingering funding pauses are not coincidental. So let me be as crystal clear as Judge McConnell’s order: we’re not interested in playing these games, especially when it comes to funding programs that Americans rely on to survive and thrive.”
Due to ongoing disruptions impacting disbursements to states despite the court’s TRO, efforts that bolster clean energy investments, transportation, infrastructure, and ensure critical health care, among others, have been put at risk. This includes some Brown University public health research endeavors funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). One project researching dementia care was scheduled for renewal review with the NIH on February 3, but that morning, the NIH notified Brown that they were canceling the meeting to review Brown’s renewal application. Other ongoing research at Brown that relies on federal funding includes projects to improve children’s nutrition and prevent coronary heart disease.
Without access to federal financial assistance, many states could face immediate cash shortfalls, making it difficult to administer basic programs. For example, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) has several projects that rely on federal funding, including grants that support local farmers, improve access to fresh and local produce, and provide food access for underserved, low-income communities in Rhode Island. If its funding continues to stay frozen, DEM cannot administer these programs, pay their contractual obligations, or support payroll for a number of staff.
This lawsuit is led by Attorney General Neronha and the attorneys general of California, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. 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 are also involved.
Attorney General Neronha applauds Judge McConnell’s granting of motion to enforce funding freeze order
Attorney General Peter Neronha today issued the following statement applauding Judge McConnell’s granting of the Office’s motion for enforcement of an ongoing lawsuit against President Trump over his administration’s funding freeze.
“Judge McConnell’s ruling in our favor was swift and unsurprising. As the Court noted, the ‘broad categorical and sweeping freeze of federal funds is, as the Court found, likely unconstitutional and has caused and continues to cause irreparable harm to a vast portion of this country,’ and that ‘these pauses in funding violate the plain text of the TRO.’
“Judge McConnell’s Order confirmed what we have been saying from the beginning. It is now time for the Administration to come into full compliance. This is a country of laws. We expect the Administration to follow the law. Our Office and attorneys general across the country stand ready to keep careful watch on the actions of this Administration that follow, and we will not hesitate to go back to Court if they don’t comply.”
The Court ordered that the Defendants “immediately restore frozen funding” and end all federal funding pauses. The Court emphasizes the Defendants “must comply with the plain text of the TRO” and “immediately restore withheld funds, including those federal funds appropriated in the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Improvement and Jobs Act,” as well as “resume the funding of institutes and other agencies of the Defendants (for example the National Institute for Health) that are included in the scope of the Court’s TRO.”