WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — Leaders in Virginia and Maryland are speaking out after the Trump administration announced that a freeze on federal grants and loans would soon take effect.
According to a report from the Associated Press, the Office of Management and Budget sent a memo out Monday night to announce the freeze, stating that the decision was necessary to guarantee that spending complies with Trump’s recent executive orders.
“The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve,” wrote Matthew Vaeth, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, in the memo.
The freeze was set to take effect on Tuesday, Jan. 28 at 5 p.m.; however, a federal judge temporarily blocked the order until Monday, Feb. 3.
Officials from the Trump administration said programs that directly assist Americans, such as Medicare, Social Security, student loans and food stamps would not be affected. However, many were still left confused.
As a result, several leaders in Virginia and Maryland spoke out against the freeze on Tuesday, condemning it.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said his administration is “still evaluating” how the freeze would impact Marylanders but said the decision has caused “unnecessary confusion” and “fear.”
“The Trump-Vance Administration is trying to hold back money that has already been approved by Congress. These actions could potentially cost jobs, raise prices, and stifle economic growth in Maryland. What’s more, these resources are intended for programs at places like Maryland schools, Maryland hospitals, and Maryland nonprofits – touching our first responders, seniors, and Marylanders from the Western Mountains to the Eastern Shore and everywhere in between,” Moore said, in part. “This is not what responsible government looks like – it’s chaos.”
Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) said the freeze would “devastate” Marylanders.
“Let’s be clear. These funds support our local police departments that keep our communities safe, hospitals that keep people alive, food programs like SNAP that feed hungry kids, veterans in need of housing after serving this nation, and more,” said Alsobrooks, in a statement. “Public service is about trying to make people’s lives better. Not ripping away critical resources Americans rely on. The Administration needs to clean up this mess immediately and reverse course.”
Alsobrooks noted that “countless” people had already called her office Tuesday “afraid” what the funding freeze would mean for them and their families.
In Virginia, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) said Tuesday afternoon he had received reports of Virginians struggling to access Medicaid portals. During a press conference, he also shared concerns regarding critical funding for K-12 school programs, including special education programs.
Despite the disapproval from various Democratic leaders in the DMV, some Republicans backed the effort, pointing to misinformation regarding what the freeze would entail.
In a post on social media, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said he spoke to senior officials at the White House and confirmed that the pause will not impact individual assistance, interrupt disaster recovery efforts, school and child care funding, healthcare for seniors or low-income families, funding for roads, meals or lunches, “or any of the other misinformation that has spread.”
Youngkin called the discussion surrounding the pause of funding a “partisan stunt to disseminate knowingly misleading information.”
“President Trump is doing what an executive should do at the beginning of a term, which is find out where the money is and where it’s going, not unlike what we did at the beginning of our term here in Virginia when we identified $1.4 billion in appropriated but unspent taxpayer money,” he said.
