Dem Ags Set To Challenge Trump’s ‘clearly Unlawful’ Federal Aid Freeze

Democratic attorneys general are preparing to urgently resist President Donald Trump’s freeze on federal aid, describing his bid to halt a large swath of spending programs as a violation of the constitution and law.

“It is astonishing that President Trump, through an agency most Americans have never heard of, would take an action so clearly unlawful that would impact so many Americans in so many ways,” said Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha at a press conference alongside counterparts from New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts.

The attorneys general intend to file suit later Tuesday, joining already-pending efforts to halt Trump’s freeze on the federal aid programs.

“Given the few hours that remain before federal grantees are thrown into disarray, Plaintiffs file this Complaint and seek a temporary restraining order to maintain the status quo until the Court has an opportunity to more fully consider the illegality of the Trump administration’s actions,” a coalition of nonprofits and public health advocates wrote in a 20-page lawsuit filed earlier Tuesday.

The legal pushback follows an internal memo sent by the acting head of Trump’s Office of Management and Budget calling for a halt to all federal aid spending except for Medicare and Social Security. The freeze is set to go into effect at 5 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday. The order appears to run afoul of federal law requiring the administration to spend funds appropriated by Congress, a statute Trump has assailed as unconstitutional.

The Trump administration on Tuesday defended the order. In her first press briefing, press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the freeze “a very responsible measure.”

The attorneys general said they were confident the Supreme Court would side with them if the fight progresses to the justices, saying Trump was attempting to sideline Congress’ central role in federal spending.

“This president has exceeded his authority,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said. “He has violated the constitution and he has trampled on a coequal branch of government.”

The nonprofit and public health groups — including the National Council of Nonprofits, the American Public Health Association and the Main Street Alliance — say the order appears to violate the law on numerous fronts.

“Halting this funding would lead to pauses of important community programs, food and safety assistance, and lifesaving research, among other things: even a short pause could be devastating, decimating organizations, costing lives, and leaving neighbors without the services they need,” the groups say in the lawsuit.

Appended to the lawsuit are affidavits from leaders of several organizations that rely on federal aid who say they’ll be forced to curb or shutter operations if the freeze is implemented, jeopardizing services to vulnerable communities and putting jobs at risk.

“[E]ntire programs will simply disappear,” they write.