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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Judge delays Trump’s federal spending freeze after it prompts ‘chaos and confusion’ in the Northwest

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on Monday aboard Air Force One en route to Joint Base Andrews, Md.  (KENNY HOLSTON/New York Times)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A federal judge on Tuesday delayed a sweeping order by the Trump administration to freeze trillions in federal grants and loans just as it was set to go into effect, after the move sowed confusion and panic among state, local and tribal governments and other entities that rely on the funds.

In a memo issued Monday night, the White House Office of Management and Budget ordered a halt to all financial assistance programs until federal agencies prove that they align with President Donald Trump’s priorities and don’t advance what the administration called “Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies” that don’t “improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve.” Along with another Tuesday memo that gave federal workers a Feb. 6 deadline to resign and receive payouts, the spending freeze is part of a broader effort to purge the federal workforce of anyone seen as disloyal to Trump.

Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said at a news conference Tuesday morning that the memo had created “chaos and confusion” for the nonprofits, schools and governments that count on the federal funds already approved by Republican and Democratic lawmakers through the annual appropriations process.

The memo sets a deadline of Feb. 10 for agencies to identify any programs that don’t conform to Trump’s priorities, but Murray and other Democrats argued that a president doesn’t have the legal authority to block funding already approved by Congress. A lawsuit filed Tuesday by Democratic state attorneys general, including Washington’s Nick Brown, quickly reached the federal judge in D.C. who temporarily blocked the freeze.

After the administration sent lawmakers additional guidance to clarify that the pause doesn’t apply to direct payments to Americans through programs such as Social Security and Medicare, Murray accused the White House of “trying to clean up the massive mess they have already made.”

“In a brazen and illegal move, the Trump administration is working to freeze huge chunks of federal funding passed into law – by Republicans and Democrats alike,” she said in another news conference Tuesday afternoon. “Entire budgets and payrolls across the country are carefully hinging on these resources. We’re talking about small towns, cities, rural America, school districts, universities and much more.”

Most Northwest Republicans in Congress backed Trump’s move or kept quiet on Tuesday, but Rep. Michael Baumgartner, R-Spokane, said by phone after meeting with constituents in Walla Walla that he was caught off guard by the spending freeze.

“I wish Congress had been given a heads-up just so that we could have worked with our constituents and there wouldn’t be the degree of uncertainty that there is,” Baumgartner said, adding that “our phones have been ringing off the hook” with calls from concerned Eastern Washington residents.

“I’m an Article I guy,” he said, referring to the part of the U.S. Constitution that establishes the authority of Congress. “It’s Congress that controls the purse strings, and if Congress makes a spending decision, you want the executive branch to be executing on it, so I do have some concerns when the constitutional roles aren’t followed as they should be.”

Baumgartner, who was elected to represent Eastern Washington’s 5th Congressional District for the first time in November, added that he hoped the White House’s order would succeed in prompting a close look at spending that was “somewhat recklessly” approved at the end of the Biden administration, so long as it’s Congress that changes those priorities.

Rep. Dan Newhouse, a Republican from Sunnyside who sits on the House Appropriations Committee, said the pause is “in line with the need to rein in out-of-control spending and reduce the impacts of inflation.”

“It is important to remember this pause is temporary and does not impact individual assistance to recipients, but is being used to evaluate if existing federal funding comply with the executive orders issued by the President since taking office,” Newhouse said in a statement. “We are working in Congress to make smart cuts and locate efficiencies that are in line with our ongoing efforts to reduce wasteful spending.”

Rep. Russ Fulcher, a Republican who represents North Idaho and areas west of Boise, called the pause “a decisive move by President Trump to ensure our government is being good stewards of taxpayer dollars.”

“At a time when our nation is $36 trillion in debt, Americans deserve to know that every penny going out the door has been carefully evaluated and that those expenditures align with the will of the People who put this administration in the White House, and that is exactly what the President is doing,” Fulcher said in a statement.

The spending freeze applies to programs targeted by seven of the dozens of executive orders Trump signed in his first week in office. One of them ordered a 90-day pause in all foreign assistance, with the exception of military aid to Israel and Egypt, prompting alarm among aid workers who fear that the delay could worsen famine, conflict, poverty and instability around the world.

Sen. Jim Risch, an Idaho Republican who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, defended Trump’s move on Tuesday and said that the spending freeze could force federal agencies to provide information that his panel has sought.

“Now that the agencies realize their programs are on the chopping block, they’re running out of their cubby holes en masse and are showing us information that we’ve been trying to get,” Risch said in a news conference. “This is going to work. Everybody, stay calm. We’ll get this done, and we’ll reduce spending.”

Late Tuesday night, newly confirmed Secretary of State Marco Rubio backtracked and issued a waiver for “lifesaving” humanitarian assistance programs, the Washington Post reported.

Sen. Mike Crapo, an Idaho Republican who will play a central role in crafting tax legislation as chair of the Senate Finance Committee, declined to comment on the spending freeze through a spokeswoman. Asked during an interview with KIVI-TV in Boise on Tuesday if “a local nonprofit” that “helps single moms” should be worried about the spending freeze, the senator first said, “No,” before amending his response.

“I’m not going to say that,” Crapo said. “I don’t think so. I am not aware of an executive order that targets single moms.”

In the morning news conference, Murray called on the Senate’s GOP majority to delay a planned Thursday vote to confirm Russell Vought as director of the Office of Management and Budget “until the Trump administration follows the law.”

Vought, who served in the same role in Trump’s first administration, was the chief architect of Project 2025, a detailed policy blueprint published by the conservative Heritage Foundation. Trump distanced himself from Project 2025’s nearly 1,000-page report during the campaign before nominating Vought to spearhead a radical remaking of the federal bureaucracy.

In her first briefing as White House press secretary on Tuesday, Karoline Leavitt defended the spending freeze as “a very responsible measure” and said it would end “illegal” programs aimed at increasing diversity among the federal workforce and “wokeness across our federal bureaucracy and agencies,” using a term that refers broadly to what the new administration sees as the influence of progressive ideology.

Leavitt told reporters she had spoken to Vought, who was not yet confirmed by the Senate, and he told her that “the line to his office is open” for federal agencies. “If they feel that programs are necessary and in line with the president’s agenda,” she said, “then the Office of Management and Budget will review these policies.”

As grant and loan recipients digested the memo on Tuesday, organizations and governments across the Northwest and the rest of the country expressed sentiments ranging from cautious optimism to outright alarm.

Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown said a shutdown of a Housing and Urban Development portal had jeopardized the city’s ability to reimburse organizations doing important work in the community and warned that an ongoing freeze “would stop millions in grant funding for our police, fire, and emergency management departments and would halt key infrastructure projects in our city.”

“I am incredibly concerned about the impacts of a federal funding freeze, which would have far-reaching consequences for essential programs across the City of Spokane,” Brown said. “While this situation is rapidly evolving and my team continues to monitor it, a continual pause on federal funding could put the health and success of our city at risk.”

Spokane County Communications Director Pat Bell said the county has 65 federal grants totaling about $149 million, including $44 million from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Even if that funding to the county remains intact, he said, a delay could cause problems.

“It’s mainly about the pause and impacts on ongoing operations,” Bell said. “A lot of those are multiyear projects, so having to pause payments or float expenses in the meantime – I think we’re hopeful we would still be able to be reimbursed, but the actual pause is where the concern’s coming from.”

Greg Abrahamson, chairman of the Spokane Tribal Council, said that because the majority of the tribe’s budget comes from the federal government, the tribal government was carefully assessing what the freeze means.

“Right now, we’re not trying to do a knee-jerk reaction,” Abrahamson said by phone, adding that he was “just hoping it won’t have a negative effect on us.”

Lois Bollenback, executive director of the Spokane Regional Transportation Council, said the regional planning agency is operating as normal but is aware that funding Congress has approved for electric vehicles and other transportation initiatives aimed at reducing carbon emissions could be targeted by the Trump administration.

“Bottom line, it’s unclear at this moment what will be impacted,” Bollenback said. “But any agencies receiving federal funds probably need to pay attention to what’s happening to determine which side of the equation they’re going to end up on. Transportation is a huge component of the economy.”

Washington State Hospital Association CEO Cassie Sauer said the association and the state’s hospitals receive federal grants to reduce dependence on opioid drugs and to improve the health of infants and their mothers, among others.

Susan Stacey, CEO of Providence Inland Northwest, said the spending freeze “just adds one more layer of unknowns in a very fragile health care system.”

“There are so many unknowns right now,” Stacey said in an interview. “I don’t feel like any of us in our present are in a position to predict where things are going to go. It’s one of the many variables that we’ve got to manage as this administration rolls out initiatives and executive orders.”

The Trump administration eventually clarified that Head Start, a program that provides child care and preschool for low-income families, would not be included in the funding freeze, but the initial announcement Monday night spurred fear and uncertainty in the providers and families around Washington state that use the services.

Joel Ryan, executive director of the Washington State Association of Head Start and Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program – the latter is a similar program funded through the state – called the move “irresponsible” and “illegal,” and said it “created unnecessary chaos” among his providers.

Head Start serves 1,600 kids across Washington and receives $189 million in federal funding, serving pregnant mothers and children until age 5. Families qualify if they earn slightly more than the federal poverty level, receive other public assistance, or if they’re homeless or in foster care.

Families not only get child care through Head Start, but services meant to support their entire families. Kids get nutritious meals, health screenings and education. Parents are connected with employment, housing and help with other public assistance.

Ryan said the online payment portal his providers use saw a “half-day shutdown” until Tuesday afternoon. Temporarily unable to pay their rent or staff, it left Head Start providers and families in limbo: Should they tell families not to come on Wednesday? Would they have a job at Head Start? Would their young children have a place to stay while families are at work?

“It’s just unconscionable,” Ryan said. “I’m glad that it got resolved, but I am concerned that this is the first step on a long journey.”

The president of the American Federation of Teachers, a union that represents 1.8 million educators and other government employees, said the pause would have “catastrophic” effects on families.

“Federal programs need to be more efficient, but no one voted for a president to halt their services – services that were appropriated, authorized and extended by Congress,” Randi Weingarten said in a statement. “Americans need a federal government that works for them, not against them.”

While many grant and loan recipients face uncertainty about the White House’s criteria for funding, the Trump administration has been clear about its opposition to programs aimed at improving outcomes for particular groups of people based on their race, ethnicity, gender identity or other elements of a person’s identity.

The Way to Justice, a nonprofit law firm in Spokane founded by two women of color in 2020 with a focus on restorative and racial justice, has received $4 million in federal funding in the past two years as part of the $200 million Community Reinvestment Project. In an interview, co-founders Virla Spencer and Camerina Zorrozua said they are not under the impression that this funding will restart after the freeze is over.

“This money was supposed to repair some harms that have been caused,” Spencer said, referring to the $200 million investment in “communities, Black and brown, that were historically impacted by the war on drugs.”

“All I know is this is a flat-out federal war against the Black and brown communities, flat out the gate,” she said. “This is a war against poor people.”

The federal judge who temporarily blocked the spending freeze, Loren AliKhan, plans to issue a final decision on Monday.

Reporters Emry Dinman, Amanda Sullender, Mitchell Roland, Monica Carrillo-Casas and Elena Perry contributed to this story.

Editor’s note: This story was changed on Jan. 29, 2025, to correct the spelling of Karoline Leavitt’s first name.