A number of Queens officials have criticized the Trump administration for introducing a funding freeze for many federal assistance programs, including aid to nonprofits, universities, small business loans, and government grants.
The federal funding freeze, which was temporarily blocked by U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan minutes before going into effect Tuesday evening, aimed to temporarily pause all activities related to federal financial assistance to review whether they conflicted with President Donald Trump’s agenda.
A White House memo sent Monday night directed all federal agencies to assess compliance with executive orders issued by Trump in his first week in office. The memo specifically mentioned “DEI, woke gender ideology, and the Green New Deal.”
“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,” the White House memo said.
The memo said the spending pause would not impact Social Security and Medicare, although Medicaid portals in all 50 states reported issues Tuesday afternoon. A White House official told CBS News that the issues had nothing to do with the touted funding freeze.
The White House noted that $3 trillion was spent on federal assistance programs throughout 2024.
Monday’s directive, sent by Office of Management and Budget Acting Director Matthew Vaeth and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett caused widespread confusion and fear, leaving elected officials unsure about which federal assistance initiatives would be impacted by the freeze.
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joined 153 House Democrats urging Trump to disclose a full list of all frozen initiatives, describing the initial executive order as “vaguely worded” and stating that the follow-up memo has caused widespread anxiety.
“This executive order is a source of great anxiety for communities and businesses across the country that use this funding to build new roads, fix bridges, replace lead pipes, expand broadband access, strengthen infrastructure against natural disasters, and much more,” Ocasio-Cortez and other House Democrats wrote in an open letter to the Trump Administration.
“Work is already underway on tens of thousands of projects in both the public and private sector, but their completion depends on these funds, which were already approved by Congress and enacted into law.”
AliKhan’s order to temporarily block the funding freeze capped the most chaotic day of Trump’s second term in office so far, with Democrats describing Trump’s actions as capricious and illegal. Democrats further argued that Trump had no power to freeze funding already appropriated by Congress. The White House, on the other hand, said the freeze was necessary in order to ensure government spending is in line with Trump’s slew of executive orders, including orders to increase fossil fuel production and end diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
Ocasio-Cortez criticized Trump for the move in a post on X, formerly Twitter, accusing the President of holding the country’s hospitals and vital services “hostage” in order to “seize power from Congress and hand it over to billionaires”.
“We must state the truth: this is a constitutional crisis. It’s a massive, illegal power grab that the House and Senate have a sworn duty to stop,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a post on X.
State Sen. Jessica Ramos described the touted budget cuts as “barbaric”, stating that the proposed freeze would leave children stranded across the country.
She further described the cuts as an “attack on all of us” and said programs potentially impacted by the freeze perform a vital function for millions of New Yorkers.
“In NYC, Head Start ensures that all kids have access to early education and meals. Without it, teachers don’t get paid. Kids don’t learn. Parents don’t go to work,” Ramos said on X.
An OMB memo issued Tuesday stated that SNAP, student loans, Pell Grants, Head Start, rental assistance and other similar programs would not be paused during the freeze, stating that “any program that provides direct benefits to Americans is explicitly excluded from the pause”. However, numerous Democrats have expressed skepticism, with Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy stating that the Head Start program was shut down in Connecticut as of Tuesday afternoon.
U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez described the freeze as illegal and said the cuts would cause chaos for millions of people.
“Food for kids, housing for veterans, loans for small businesses, and other critical services are all at risk,” Velazquez said. “This is careless, unlawful, and in complete disregard for working families.”
Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas said the federal funding freeze was an “all-out assault on Americans”.
“We are experiencing an all-out assault on Americans. Trump has made it abundantly clear that he does not care about the hard-working people living in Queens,” González-Rojas said in a statement.
She accused Trump of attempting to “line the pockets of the extremely wealthy” and said the President is on a “rampage against the poor”.
“In typical Trump style, his directive is unclear and designed to elicit fear. But we can expect that this community, made up of Latinos and Asian communities from countries all over the world will suffer from these budget cuts and games from the White House and Republicans.”
New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams issued a joint statement with Finance Chair Justin Brannan condemning the spending freeze, stating that Trump’s directive has disrupted Medicaid and early childhood education while also threatening food assistance for Americans. She said the directive is irresponsible and has caused chaos among communities across the country.
“From our students and families to older adults and veterans, this sudden halt of federal aid will further endanger our economy and the health and safety of all New Yorkers,” Adams and Brannan said in a joint statement.
“This intentionally cruel and incompetent action demands a clear, swift, and coordinated response from the mayoral administration, together with our state and congressional partners and localities throughout the nation, to protect the critical services families depend on.”
Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani, who is running in the 2025 mayoral election, also called on Mayor Eric Adams to take action against the funding freeze. Mamdani said Trump had “escalated his war on the working class,” stating that the directive would jeopardize programs that pay for school meals, critical safety inspections, nutrition for pregnant infants, and support for homeless veterans.
He also criticized the mayor for recent comments indicating that he would not criticize Trump publicly.
“While Trump tries to burn down the remaining social safety net on behalf of his billionaire patrons, Eric Adams says he will never criticize the President in public. New York City needs a Mayor who’s a fighter, not a sycophant,” Mamdani said.
U.S. Rep. Grace Meng said the attempt to freeze funding was both dangerous and irresponsible, stating that both the NYPD and FDNY are at risk of losing access to funding as a result.
“This directive is literally defunding law enforcement and putting our public safety at risk. A federal judge issued a temporary order late this afternoon halting this sweeping freeze on federal aid and the White House must comply without exception,” Meng said in a statement Tuesday evening.
Judge AliKhan has ordered a temporary administrative stay on the federal funding freeze until Monday, with another court hearing scheduled on Feb. 3 to consider the issue.
AliKhan issued the administrative stay late Tuesday afternoon after the National Council of Nonprofits sued the government earlier in the day, alleging that the funding freeze would irreparably harm its members. The judge informed the group of nonprofits that she is prepared to vacate the administrative stay if they do not produce satisfactory evidence next Monday meeting the standard for a temporary restraining order.
