Woonsocket Radio News Room

Attorney General Neronha co-leads 22 states and the District of Columbia in suing to stop Trump Administration from withholding essential federal funding

Lawsuit filed in United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Attorney General Peter F. Neronha today co-leads 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 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.

“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.”

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 U.S. 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 any regard for the laws and regulations that govern 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.