Connect with us

News

‘Lawlessness and Chaos’: Trump’s Massive Federal Aid Freeze Over ‘Woke Ideology’ Condemned

Published

on

In a wide-ranging and unprecedented move, the Trump administration has ordered a freeze on nearly all federal government aid in a stated effort to root out and end funding for “woke” policies, including what acting Office of Management and Budget Director Matthew Vaeth called “Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies,” “DEI,” and “woke gender ideology.”

The reach of the freeze is extraordinary, but also largely undefined. In his memo, Vaeth suggested it affects $3 trillion in federal funding, nearly half of the federal government’s $6.75 trillion spent during fiscal year 2024. And while allegedly temporary, there is no date published for funding to be turned back on.

The Washington Post notes that the “memo states its orders should not be ‘construed’ to impact Social Security or Medicare recipients, and also says the federal financial assistance put on hold ‘does not include assistance provided directly to individuals.'”

But the federal government sends grants to the states for programs like Medicaid and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps), the WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) food program, CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), highways, community development, housing, and education programs. It also provides funding through the Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) Cooperative Agreement, which helps states prepare for natural disasters and pandemics, like COVID.

The Bulwark’s Sam Stein observed, “This federal grant funding *pause* is going to impact a lot of people who voted for Trump. Whether they care or connect the dots is another matter.”

READ MORE: Trump DOJ Fires ‘More Than a Dozen’ Prosecutors from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s Team

Legal experts say the move could be unconstitutional. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 requires Congressional approval for a president to withhold the funds Congress has allocated. The U.S. Supreme Court in Train v. City of New York (1975) also ruled a president cannot refuse to spend allocated funds.

Calling Vaeth’s memo “cryptic and thinly reasoned,” Professor of Law and constitutional scholar Steve Vladeck writes, “the consequences are potentially cataclysmic—for virtually all foreign aid (including the distribution of HIV drugs in poor countries); for medical and other scientific research in the United States; for tons of different pools of support for educational institutions; and for virtually every other entity that receives federal financial assistance.”

He says that “even without the Impoundment Control Act, the kind of across-the-board impoundment the OMB memo is effectuating, even temporarily, should pretty plainly be unconstitutional,” but adds, “the Impoundment Control Act appears to resolve the illegality of this move beyond dispute.”

Others are also condemning the Trump administration’s move.

“The US Constitution does not grant the President this unilateral authority,” remarked Democratic Illinois Governor JB Pritzker. In Illinois, we will stand against unlawful actions that would harm millions of working families, children, and seniors.”

Calling it a “brazen” and “illegal move,” U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) wrote, “the Trump administration is working to freeze federal funding passed into law. The law is the law—Trump must immediately reverse course, follow the requirements of the law, & ensure the nation’s spending laws are implemented as Congress intended.”

READ MORE: ‘We Are the Opposite of Nazis’: Colombia’s President Slams Trump Deportation Policies

Murray is vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. She pointed to a letter she and her counterpart in the House of Representatives, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) sent to the OMB chief:

Dr. Phillip Rocco is an associate professor whose “research examines the intersection between federalism, the policymaking process, and the political economy of policy expertise.” He suggests that more than a third of state budgets, on average, are funded by federal grants:

“To put the OMB grant freeze in context, roughly 17.5% of Wisconsin’s revenue comes from federal grants in aid last I checked. Overall, federal grants account for roughly 36% of all state government budgets in US. In a number of states the federal share is even higher.”

“It seems like a very big deal, ”Brian Riedl, a senior fellow at the right-wing Manhattan Institute, told the Post. “The funding delays are going to prove very difficult for grantees under the impression the money is coming, and have rent and salary payments dependent upon it.”

“In two pages, we’ve got what amounts to 60 years of tradition and policies that are thrown up in the air,” Donald Kettl, professor emeritus and former dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, told the Post. Kettl, who has consulted for multiple government agencies, also said: “For those suffering most, the uncertainty will be immense.”

U.S. Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer issued a damning statement overnight condemning the OMB directive.

“More lawlessness and chaos in America as Donald Trump’s Administration blatantly disobeys the law by holding up virtually all vital funds that support programs in every community across the country. If this continues, the American people will pay an awful price,” he wrote. “They say this is only temporary, but no one should believe that. Donald Trump must direct his Administration to reverse course immediately and the taxpayers’ money should be distributed to the people.”

“Congress approved these investments and they are not optional; they are the law. These grants help people in red states and blue states, support families, help parents raise kids, and lead to stronger communities,” Schumer added. “Donald Trump’s Administration is jeopardizing billions upon billions of community grants and financial support that help millions of people across the country. It will mean missed payrolls and rent payments and everything in between: chaos for everything from universities to non-profit charities.”

In another unprecedented move, as The Washington Post also reported, all agencies will have to send data not to a career OMB official, but to a political appointee.

“The agencies are also required to submit detailed lists of projects suspended under the new order by Feb. 10. Federal agencies must assign ‘responsibility and oversight’ to tracking the federal spending to a senior political appointee, not a career official, the memo states.”

The existence of the memo was first reported by journalist Marisa Kabas, of The Handbasket.

READ MORE: Fetterman Denies Rightward Shift Toward Trump Amid Concerns Over His Democratic Dedication

 

Image via Reuters

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment
 
 

Enjoy this piece?

… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.

NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.

Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.

News

‘Fiery Emperor Nero’: French Senator Denounces Trump and His ‘Ketamine-Fueled Jester’

Published

2 hours ago

on

March 6, 2025

By

A speech attacking President Donald Trump and Elon Musk by French Senator Claude Malhuret is going viral.

It comes as the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, in a prime-time address Wednesday urged the citizens of France to discuss extending their nuclear umbrella to Ukraine in the face of what clearly is President Donald Trump’s decision to align with Vladimir Putin and Russia over Ukraine.

Senator Malhuret, who is also a physician and an attorney, is being heralded here in America.

The New Yorker’s Susan Glasser heralded Senator Malhuret’s remarks.

READ MORE: Elon Musk Cannot Say ‘You’re Fired’ Trump Tells Cabinet

“Powerful speech about Trump’s betrayal of the democratic world,” she wrote. “My question watching this — where is the American version? Why hasn’t US’s own opposition to Trump been able to speak out with such clarity and force? Tempus fugit.”

MSNBC’s Michael Steele, the former RNC Chairman, quoted this from Malhuret’s remarks: “Washington has become the court of Nero: an incendiary emperor, submissive courtiers and a buffoon on ketamine tasked with purging the civil service.”

“Regardless the language, the Truth remains the same,” Steele commented. “THIS is worth your time.”

Former Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Anton Gerashchenko, pointed to this quote from the speech:

“The defeat of Ukraine would be the defeat of Europe. The Baltic States, Georgia and Moldova are already on the list. Putin’s goal is to return to Yalta, where half the continent was ceded to Stalin.”

READ MORE: ‘Betrayal’: Trump’s Escalating Russian Alignment Condemned by Critics, Praised by Kremlin

“Perfectly expressed,” declared The New European, which published the text in English and called it “a powerful speech setting out how the continent must deal with the twin threats from America and Russia.”

The New European reports the speech included these lines:

“The king of the deal is showing what the art of the deal is all about. He thinks he will intimidate China by lying down before Putin, but Xi Jinping, faced with such a shipwreck, is probably accelerating preparations for the invasion of Taiwan.”

“Never in history has a president of the United States capitulated to the enemy,” and added, “in one month, Trump has done more harm to America than in four years of his last presidency. We were at war with a dictator, now we are fighting a dictator backed by a traitor.”

Speaking of Trump, he said, “in the Oval Office, the military service shirker was giving war hero Zelensky lessons in morality and strategy before dismissing him like a groom, ordering him to submit or resign.”

“Our parents defeated fascism and communism at great cost,” Malhuret said. “The task of our generation is to defeat the totalitarianisms of the 21st century. Long live free Ukraine, long live democratic Europe.”

The speech is of course in French, but there are subtitles.

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Darkness’: Buttigieg Warns on Trump, SCOTUS, and Democracy

Image via Reuters

Continue Reading

News

Elon Musk Cannot Say ‘You’re Fired’ Trump Tells Cabinet

Published

2 hours ago

on

March 6, 2025

By

Amid mounting legal pushback that threatens to upend his plan to deconstruct the federal government, eliminate hundreds of thousands of employees, and slash budgets, President Donald Trump has been facing a critical question: Who’s in charge of this?

On Thursday, Trump appeared to try to get the message straight.

“President Donald Trump convened his Cabinet in person on Thursday to deliver a message: You’re in charge of your departments, not Elon Musk,” Politico reports, noting: “Trump to Cabinet: Musk has no authority to fire workers.”

“According to two administration officials, Trump told top members of his administration that Musk was empowered to make recommendations to the departments but not to issue unilateral decisions on staffing and policy. Musk was also in the room.”

READ MORE: ‘Betrayal’: Trump’s Escalating Russian Alignment Condemned by Critics, Praised by Kremlin

Politico adds that this is “the first significant move to narrow Musk’s mandate. According to Trump’s new guidance, DOGE and its staff should play an advisory role — but Cabinet secretaries should make final decisions on personnel, policy and the pacing of implementation.”

Earlier this week, Trump came under fire from the left when he declared, “the days of rule by unelected bureaucrats are over,” during his address to a joint session of Congress—given that Musk, a billionaire tech entrepreneur and federal government contractor, at least appeared to have been heading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

During that speech Tuesday night, Trump, in fact, actually credited Musk with leading the organization.

“I have created the brand-new Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE — perhaps you’ve heard of it,” Trump said, as NBC News reported. The President then added, “Which is headed by Elon Musk, who is in the gallery tonight.”

Federal judges have questioned Musk’s and DOGE’s authority, and the constitutionality of the operation, as The New York Times reported, leading to them to pause some mass firings.

READ MORE: ‘Darkness’: Buttigieg Warns on Trump, SCOTUS, and Democracy

Tuesday night, Trump’s remarks on Musk heading DOGE almost immediately showed up in a court filing, as MSNBC’s and Just Security’s Adam Klasfeld quickly reported:

Despite the mass firings of countless thousands of federal government workers, Politico reports, “Trump stressed that he wants to keep good people in government and not to eject capable federal workers en masse.”

“But his administration has in recent weeks fired tens of thousands of federal workers across numerous agencies in a series of blanket terminations. A federal judge and the chair of a federal civil service board have both concluded that the terminations were not tied to performance issues — and may have violated civil service laws.”

READ MORE: SCOTUS Hands Trump a Loss in Multi-Billion Dollar USAID Case

 

Image via Reuters

Continue Reading

News

‘Betrayal’: Trump’s Escalating Russian Alignment Condemned by Critics, Praised by Kremlin

Published

8 hours ago

on

March 6, 2025

By

In the week since Donald Trump and JD Vance launched a two-on-one televised attack on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the American president, his administration, and his allies have escalated actions that undermine—and even endanger—Ukraine and its people on multiple fronts, leading critics to denounced President Trump’s “betrayal.”

Trump and his administration reportedly will be targeting Ukrainian refugees in the U.S., and have already crippled a key military tool vital to Ukraine’s defense, halted weapons shipments, and ordered a top Pentagon agency to suspend operations and planning against Russia’s cyber offensives. Trump’s close allies reportedly are looking to back Zelenskyy’s political opponents in Ukraine. Critics—and even Russian state propagandists—say these moves send an unmistakable signal to the world: the United States has “switched sides” in Vladimir Putin’s illegal war against Ukraine.

“The new administration is rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov recently declared, as MSNBC reported Tuesday. “This largely aligns with our vision.”

President Trump “was asked for his reaction after the Kremlin said the White House was largely aligned with Moscow. He didn’t answer — but he didn’t have to,” observed MSNBC’s Steve Benen.

Reuters is reporting that the Trump administration will move to revoke the legal protected status of 240,000 Ukrainians who fled the Russian invasion to come to the United States. These refugees, under a Biden administration program, were required to pay fees, be fully vetted, and have proof of a sponsor and financial means.

READ MORE: ‘Darkness’: Buttigieg Warns on Trump, SCOTUS, and Democracy

“The move, expected as soon as April, would be a stunning reversal of the welcome Ukrainians received under President Joe Biden’s administration,” according to Reuters, which noted that at least some could be put on a fast track to deportation.

While Reuters reports its sources say the plan was in place before President Donald Trump’s and Vice President. JD Vance’s Oval Office blowup, it also comes amid moves that appear to put the Trump administration on the side of Russia and President Vladimir Putin.

Earlier this week, President Trump ordered a suspension of critical intelligence sharing with Ukraine, a move that is “expected to cripple Kyiv’s ability to target Russian forces,” The Wall Street Journal reported.

The Trump administration also “suspended weapons shipments to Ukraine earlier this week,” after the “contentious Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky,” the Journal reported. Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe, “said Trump, after that meeting, had also ‘asked for a pause’ of intelligence sharing.”

For years, the CIA and other U.S. Intelligence agencies “have forged deep ties with Ukrainian counterparts,” according to the Journal. Now, that has changed.

“We have taken a step back and are pausing and reviewing all aspects of this relationship,” Trump National Security Advisor Mike Waltz told reporters Wednesday.

Trump’s decision to halt intelligence sharing “will cost civilian lives almost immediately, dismayed Ukrainians said Thursday,” NBC News reported. The President’s decision also came as European leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, “convened a summit in Brussels as they attempt to cope with an upended landscape in which the Trump administration appears to be treating them with hostility while seemingly warming to the Kremlin.”

In another escalation against Ukraine and an apparent move toward Russia, on Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News that the war in Ukraine is “a proxy war between nuclear powers – the United States, helping Ukraine, and Russia – and it needs to come to an end.”

Reuters reported that the Kremlin “said on Thursday that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s view that the Ukraine conflict is a proxy war between the United States and Russia is in line with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s own assessment.”

READ MORE: ‘Betrayal’: Democrats Blast Trump’s ‘Assault’ on VA Over Plan to Cut 80,000 Employees

On Thursday, Politico Europe exclusively reported that “senior members of Donald Trump’s entourage have held secret discussions with some of Kyiv’s top political opponents to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, just as Washington aligns with Moscow in seeking to lever the Ukrainian president out of his job.”

“The discussions centered on whether Ukraine could hold quick presidential elections. These are being delayed in line with the country’s constitution because Ukraine remains under martial law. Critics of holding elections say they could be chaotic and play into Russia’s hands, with so many potential voters serving on the front lines or living abroad as refugees.”

Politico notes that while the Trump administration denies interfering in Ukraine’s domestic politics, “the behavior of Trump and his officials suggests quite the opposite. Trump has accused Zelenskyy of being a ‘dictator without elections,’ and hinted he would not be ‘around very long’ if he didn’t do a deal with Russia. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has falsely accused Kyiv of canceling the election.”

University of Copenhagen award-winning professor of political science, Marlene Wind, blasted the news.

“This is just appalling. Is Trump secretly planning a coup in Kyiv by replacing @ZelenskyyUa with a pro-Russian politician?” she asked.

Bartłomiej Gajos, a historian of Russia and the Soviet Union, asked: “Is it official US policy to seek regime change in Ukraine? That would be my question to the administration if I were a journalist.”

Meanwhile, critics are also condemning Secretary Rubio’s remarks—with some calling them Russian talking points. And President Trump’s decision to target the nearly quarter-million Ukrainian refugees in the U.S. is also being denounced.

Critics Sound the Alarm

“This is nasty, heartless, un-American and dangerous,” declared veteran and veterans’ activist Paul Rieckhoff. “It’s sending innocent civilians back into a war zone to die. These are women and children and seniors. The latest move to deepen Trump’s betrayal of Ukraine. And American values. He continues to drive the knife deeper into the back of Ukraine. And NATO. Putin is celebrating. And the Statue of Liberty is weeping. Congress must exhaust every option to block this. I’d expect Canada or another good nation to step up to accept these Ukrainians. As America continues to fail and fall. And become more isolated and less safe.”

“Hold on,” said The Wall Street Journal’s chief foreign affairs correspondent Yaroslav Trofimo, “didn’t President Trump just say that half of Ukraine is flattened and that his main motivation is care for innocent Ukrainian lives?”

The New Yorker’s Susan Glasser remarked, “How to see this as anything other than a betrayal of people who fled for their lives? The US welcomed them… and now we’re throwing them out, and switching sides in Putin’s war.”

Last week, Glasser wrote: “the United States of America has switched sides in the war between Russia and Ukraine. The country is no longer on the side of Ukraine.”

Late Thursday morning Glasser posted video of a French lawmaker, calling it a “Powerful speech about Trump’s betrayal of the democratic world.”

“My question watching this — where is the American version?” she asked. “Why hasn’t US’s own opposition to Trump been able to speak out with such clarity and force? Tempus fugit.”

Jesuit priest James Martin, a New York Times best-selling author, and editor-at-large of America magazine, responding to the news Ukrainian refugees may lose protections and be deported, wrote simply: “‘I was a stranger and you did not welcome me’ (Mt 25).”

Watch the videos above or at this link.

READ MORE: SCOTUS Hands Trump a Loss in Multi-Billion Dollar USAID Case

 

Image via Reuters

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2020 AlterNet Media.