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BOSTON – Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell today co-led 22 other attorneys general in filing a preliminary injunction motion in their ongoinglawsuit against the Trump Administration for actions that froze nearly $3 trillion in federal funding for critical programs and services that benefit the American people. The coalition also moved to further enforce the court’s existing temporary restraining order (TRO) because the federal government has not uniformly implemented it and has failed to unfreeze critical infrastructure funds.
“Today’s filings show the vast scope of President Trump’s federal funding freeze, which hurts our families, communities and economy. Precious financial resources for education, clean air and water, and even the roads we drive on, have been frozen illegally,” said AG Campbell. “The President does not have the authority to override funding allocated by law. We’re fighting to hold him accountable and keep funding available while our case proceeds through the court system.”
AG Campbell and the coalition sued the Trump Administration over their unlawful funding freeze on January 28, and on January 31, the Court granted a TRO blocking the freeze’s implementation until a preliminary injunction could be filed.
Today’s preliminary injunction motion emphasizes the widespread damage the Trump Administration’s funding freeze causes states, which rely on billions of dollars of critical federal assistance for essential public services. The freeze puts at risk efforts that bolster clean energy investments, transportation, infrastructure, and ensure critical health care, among others. In Massachusetts, even after the Court’s TRO, which remains in place today, state agencies were unable to draw down funds from a variety of grant programs. For example, officials were unable to access funding that helps more than 47 Massachusetts cities and towns remove contaminants from drinking water. Additionally, accounts were frozen for Massachusetts’s Solar for All program, which funds solar panels for low-income and disadvantaged communities.
As detailed in the preliminary injunction motion, without access to federal financial assistance, many states could face immediate cash shortfalls, making it difficult to administer basic programs that address pressing needs like funding for healthcare and food for children. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts receives more than $20 billion in federal funding each year to support projects that improve the health, welfare, and economic stability of resident’s lives. Massachusetts employs nearly 3,000 people through federal grants. The United States Constitution gives Congress the power to determine how federal funds are allocated. Once a spending law is enacted, the Constitution mandates the President ensure laws are faithfully executed. He does not have the authority to unilaterally override laws governing federal spending.
AG Campbell joins the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin in filing the motions.
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