Patty Murray cries foul on Trump order on grants and loans

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray is slamming the Trump administration’s order pausing all federal grants and loans as a “brazen and illegal move” that would have devastating consequences for universities, cities, schools and other institutions.

In a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday morning, Murray said her office has been flooded with panicked calls since news of the order emerged Monday night.

“We could see a screeching halt to resources for child care, housing, police officers, opioid addiction treatment, rebuilding roads and bridges, and even disaster relief efforts. Trump was just in California to witness the devastation and now he is holding back that aid,” Murray said.

“The American people did not vote for this kind of senseless chaos,” Murray added.

Court battles are imminent with a coalition of state attorneys general from New York, California, Illinois, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Delaware planning to file a suit Tuesday afternoon to block the order, according to Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader in the Senate.

A federal judge in Washington D.C. issued an order Tuesday temporarily blocking the funding pause minutes before it was set to go into effect at 5 p.m. The administrative stay issued by U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan lasts until Monday and applies only to existing programs, the Associated Press reported

Mike Faulk, a spokesperson for Washington Attorney General Nick Brown, said his office is talking with other states about potential legal action and would have more to say about it soon.

Trump administration officials said the order was necessary to ensure all federal funding complies with Trump’s recent executive orders targeting diversity and equity programs, transgender rights and environmental justice.

“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 a memo outlining the pause.

A document circulated by Murray’s office to Democratic Senate caucus members said the order, “if implemented broadly as written” could temporarily block hundreds of billions of dollars in approved federal funding.

That could include grants to police agencies, road and bridge projects, money to address the fentanyl crisis, cancer research, food-safety inspections, veterans’ services and Head Start, the document said..

The full impacts in Washington state were not immediately clear, but the Trump order is sure to ripple through major institutions like the University of Washington, which is among the largest recipients of federal grants.

The news conference with Murray and other Senate Democratic leaders had originally been planned to protest Trump’s pardons of the rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, fueled by his lies about the 2020 election.

A resolution supported by Murray seeks to condemn the pardons for those found guilty of assaulting Capitol Police officers.

But in a measure of the rapid-fire Trump actions early in his second term — an effort his advisers have said is intended to “flood the zone” and keep critics off balance — Murray and Democrats pivoted to the latest conflagration, talking instead about the spending freeze.

The temporary freeze, which seeks to halt spending already authorized by Congress, was set to go into effect at 5 p.m. Tuesday, even as its scope remained unclear.

Vaeth’s memo said every agency receiving federal funds must conduct “a comprehensive analysis” to identify any programs that might be affected by Trump’s executive orders. In the interim, “to the extent permissible under applicable law” agencies were ordered “to temporarily pause” all federally funded activities.

Administration officials said the freeze would not affect federal assistance to individuals, including Social Security, Medicare and food stamps. But it could at least temporarily freeze trillions of dollars in spending and cause widespread disruption in health care research, education programs and other initiatives. Even grants that have been awarded but not spent are supposed to be halted.

In a letter to Vaeth on Monday, Murray, the vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., objected to the spending freeze as an effort to undermine Congress’ constitutional powers over spending.

“The law is the law — and we demand you in your role as Acting OMB

Director reverse course to ensure requirements enacted into law are faithfully met and the nation’s spending laws are implemented as intended,” Murray and DeLauro wrote.

Seattle Times staff reporter Lauren Girgis contributed to this report, which includes material from The Associated Press.

Jim Brunner: 206-515-5628 or jbrunner@seattletimes.com. Seattle Times political reporter Jim Brunner covers state, local and regional politics.