01.31.25

Senator Murray Statement on Court Blocking Trump’s Devastating Funding Freeze

 

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement on a federal district court ordering a temporary restraining order blocking President Trump’s federal funding freeze:

 

“Today, the court affirmed what we’ve long known: the President does not have the power to rip funding that is law away from the American people. 

 

“People in every corner of the country have felt the painful consequences of Trump’s disastrous funding freeze—and we are going to keep fighting to make sure funding to rebuild our roads and bridges, invest in families, create good paying jobs, and so much more gets out the door as the law requires.”

 

In its order, the court noted that:

  • “The Executive’s action unilaterally suspends the payment of federal funds to the States and others simply by choosing to do so, no matter the authorizing or appropriating statute, the regulatory regime, or the terms of the grant itself. The Executive cites no legal authority allowing it to do so; indeed, no federal law would authorize the Executive’s unilateral action here.”
  • “Congress has not given the Executive limitless power to broadly and indefinitely pause all funds that it has expressly directed to specific recipients and purposes and therefore the Executive’s actions violate the separation of powers.”
  • “The Executive Branch has a duty to align federal spending and action with the will of the people as expressed through congressional appropriations, not through ‘Presidential priorities.’”
  • “Federal law specifies how the Executive should act if it believes that appropriations are inconsistent with the President’s priorities–it must ask Congress, not act unilaterally.”

 

Senator Murray has consistently raised alarm bells over President Trump and his top advisors’ ongoing efforts and plans to block funding Congress has provided from making it out to American families, businesses, and communities. Last week, she grilled President Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget, Russ Vought, on his loud declarations that President Trump should unilaterally hold up funding—and his refusal to commit to Congress to follow the law. She called out President Trump’s unlawful executive orders holding up funding for infrastructure, national security programs, good-paying clean energy jobs and innovations, and much more—and released a fact sheet detailing how his orders violate the law and the constitution. On Monday night, after OMB issued its sweeping memo freezing trillions of dollars in funding for America, Senator Murray and House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro sent a letter to Acting OMB Director Matthew J. Vaeth raising the alarm on President Trump’s unlawful executive orders and the new memoranda. She joined colleagues hours later for a press conference highlighting the mass panic and confusion the memo was already creating for families and communities in every part of the country. On Wednesday, Senator Murray spoke at a press conference hammering how badly Trump’s actions are hurting their states—and working people all across the country. On Thursday, she called on Trump to rescind his executive orders still blocking billions of dollars in funding for communities across America after Trump revoked his disastrous OMB memo that ordered a blanket funding freeze.

 

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