Topline
Coalitions of Democratic state attorneys general and nonprofits announced lawsuits against President Donald Trump’s administration Tuesday over its guidance temporarily pausing nearly all federal assistance, the first in what’s expected to be a series of lawsuits taking aim at the guidance as legal experts argue it’s unlawful.
President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on … [+]
Key Facts
The National Council of Nonprofits and other organizations sued the Office Of Management and Budget and its Acting Director Matthew Vaeth Tuesday in federal court, after Vaeth issued guidance Monday evening directing federal agencies to stop disbursing federal grant and loan money starting at 5 p.m. EST Tuesday.
Democratic attorneys general in New York, California, New Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts and Rhode Island then announced they will file a lawsuit later Tuesday taking aim at the policy and seeking a court order to immediately stop it, with New York Attorney Letitia James saying the order is “dangerous, reckless, illegal and unconstitutional.”
The funding pause is so agencies can review whether the funding is “consistent” with Trump’s policy aims, Vaeth said, and is expected to affect most government funding, other than individual assistance like Social Security and Medicare payments.
Plaintiffs argued the guidance will have a “devastating impact” on nonprofits that receive government grants, which depend on the federal funds “to fulfill their missions, pay their employees, pay their rent—and, indeed, improve the day-to-day lives of the many people they work so hard to serve.”
The nonprofits say the guidance should be overturned because it violates the Administrative Procedure Act, arguing it is “arbitrary and capricious,” exceeds the agency’s authority and is contrary to the First Amendment.
The groups argue that nonprofits like those that advocate for left-leaning causes like LGBTQ rights may have their funding stripped under the new guidance because of those views.
The White House has not yet responded to a request for comment.
Crucial Quote
The Trump administration’s memo “fails even to acknowledge the catastrophic practical consequences that an immediate, across-the-board freeze on federal grant programs will produce, let alone to provide a reasonable explanation why those consequences could possibly be warranted merely to conduct a review,” the lawsuit argues, decrying the guidance “did not even recognize the obvious and immediate nationwide harm and disruption it will occasion.”
What To Watch For
James said Tuesday the attorneys general would be filing their lawsuit at some point in the day, and more lawsuits against the funding ban could still be filed as the law takes effect.
What Does The Funding Pause Affect?
The pause on federal assistance is expected to impact a broad array of programs and nonprofits. In a memo to Senate Democrats made public by Puck, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the Ranking Member on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the move could affect funding that includes small business loans, veterans care, nutrition assistance for low-income Americans, funding to Native American tribes, Violence Against Women Act programs, AI research, food inspections, assistance for military service members, military-related grants, the National Suicide Hotline, foreign aid, disaster relief, law enforcement programs, infrastructure projects, funding to combat fentanyl use, medical research, emergency preparedness efforts, firefighting, child care, K-12 school funding, higher education and community health centers. Among the nonprofits behind Monday’s lawsuit that say they’ll be affected by the pause are the American Public Health Association; the Main Street Alliance, which represents small businesses, and LGBTQ rights group SAGE.
Is Trump’s Funding Pause Legal?
Legal experts have criticized the memo pausing all federal assistance and argued it violates federal law. While the nonprofits’ lawsuit centers on the Administrative Procedure Act, legal experts have pointed to the 1974 Impoundment Control Act, a law specifically designed to keep presidents from canceling spending that’s already been passed by Congress. That policy requires presidents to go to Congress for approval to cancel any federal spending, and Georgetown University law professor Stephen Vladeck wrote even in this case, in which the memo only temporarily pauses the spending, Trump would still have to request permission from Congress first. It’s unclear how the nonprofits’ arguments about the Administrative Procedure Act will fare in court, though Vladeck said he expected even the 6-3 conservative Supreme Court not to greenlight the memo and rule Trump’s presidential power “extends to the right to refuse to spend any and all money Congress appropriates.”
Key Background
Trump’s administration announced its guidance pausing all federal funding after the president has long claimed he should be able to cancel Congress’ spending decisions, despite the Impoundment Control Act. “I will use the president’s long-recognized Impoundment Power to squeeze the bloated federal bureaucracy for massive savings,” Trump said in a 2023 campaign video. The president tried to cancel federal spending several times during his first term, most notably by allegedly tying aid to Ukraine to the government investigating former President Joe Biden and his family—a request that led to Trump’s first impeachment. Democrats have raised concerns about the possibility Trump could try to undo funding that’s already been appropriated by Congress since he took office, as Trump signed an executive order on his first day that paused funding appropriated through Biden-era laws on infrastructure and climate change. In his confirmation hearings before Senate committees, Trump’s nominee for Office of Management and Budget director Russell Vought declined to explicitly say Trump would not violate the Impoundment Control Act, and the issue has been expected to go to the Supreme Court.
Further Reading
