A federal judge has temporarily blocked a Trump administration freeze on federal grants and loans that could total trillions of dollars. U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan blocked the action Tuesday afternoon, minutes before it was set to go into effect. The administrative stay pauses the freeze until Monday.
Just before that pause, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz sounded the alarm and expressed a great deal of frustration after President Donald Trump's order to freeze federal grants and loans. That order goes into effect this afternoon.
"This is not bold, it's not leadership, it's stupid, buffoonish, childish, exactly what they did," said Walz. Childcare providers across the state, law enforcement, our prisons, things that we count on, individuals on Medicare, things that we know matter to people's lives. I want to be very clear about this, Minnesota is a state that pays far more into the federal government than we get back. Those are our dollars that he is stealing unconstitutionally."
Walz was pointed in his comments about the decision.
"These people control our nuclear weapons, these people make decisions with our allies," said Walz. "This is a great example of the ineptitude and chaos. This is not conservativism. This is not anything. This is just amateur hour cruelty."
The governor says the freeze threatens $1.8 billiion in federal funds usually allocated to the state each month.
"After Medicaid, the next largest federal programs that we're bringing in, it would be SNAP, so food assistance," says Erin Campbell, the Commissioner of Minnesota Management and Budget. "We also have federal funding for our basic health program, otherwise known as Minnesota Care. That's over $500 million a year."
The move by the Trump Administration plunged the U.S. government into panic and confusion on Tuesday. The freeze in funding comes while the administration conducts an across-the-board ideological review to uproot progressive initiatives, setting the stage for a constitutional clash over control of taxpayer money.
"If you want to do these things and you believe you have the mandate to defund childcare and police and all that, then go to Congress, pass a bill, sign it, and do it," Walz added.
Administration officials said the decision to halt loans and grants — a financial lifeline for local governments, schools and nonprofit organizations around the country — was necessary to ensure that spending complies with Trump’s recent blitz of executive orders. The Republican president wants to increase fossil fuel production, remove protections for transgender people and end diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
Minnesota joined 21 other states that sued the Trump Administration. Walz says this kind of decision is unprecedented.
"This isn't even banana republic territory. This is beyond that what they've done," Walz said on Tuesday afternoon during a press conference with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.
A vaguely worded memo issued by the Office of Management and Budget, combined with incomplete answers from the White House throughout the day, left lawmakers, public officials and average Americans struggling to figure out what programs would be affected by the pause. Even temporary interruptions in funding could cause layoffs or delays in public services.
Trump administration officials said programs that provide direct assistance to Americans would not be affected, such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, student loans and food stamps. They also defended the funding pause, saying Trump was following through on his promise to turn Washington upside down if elected to a second term.