LANSING, MI — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said she plans to file litigation to protect programs and restore services potentially impacted by President Donald Trump’s plans to freeze federal funds.
“I am aware of the (U.S. Office of Management and Budget) memo issued last night by the White House, and my department is learning already of services impacted throughout the State, including Medicaid and Head Start,” Nessel said in a statement Tuesday, Jan. 28. “We are receiving reports of critical impacts to significant programs many millions of Michiganders rely upon daily for vital services.”
The White House announced its pausing of federal grants and loans starting at 5 p.m. Tuesday as Trump’s administration begins an across-the-board ideological review of its spending, causing confusion and panic among organizations that rely on Washington for their financial lifeline.
Administration officials said the decision was necessary to ensure all funding complies with Trump’s executive orders, which are intended to undo progressive steps on transgender rights, environmental justice and diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, efforts.
They also said that federal assistance to individuals would not be affected, including Social Security, Medicare, food stamps, student loans and scholarships.
“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,” Matthew Vaeth, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, wrote in a statement.
It’s unclear from the White house memo how sweeping the pause will be. Vaeth said all spending must comply with Trump’s executive orders.
Vaeth wrote “each agency must complete a comprehensive analysis of all of their Federal financial assistance programs to identify programs, projects, and activities that may be implicated by any of the President’s executive orders.”
He also wrote the pause should be implemented “to the extent permissible under applicable law.”
The funding freeze could impact trillions of dollars — at least temporarily — 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. State agencies and early education centers appeared to be struggling to access money from Medicaid and Head Start, stirring anxiety with answers hard to come by in Washington.
“We hear and share your direct and dire concerns,” Nessel said of the federal funding freeze’s affect on Michigan programs.
“My team is working at full speed today to discern what these orders mean and the extent of their immediate impacts, and request an immediate legal remedy to restore funding provided by Congress, require this administration to comply with the law, and to stop this absurd and unprecedented attack on these programs.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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