Politics

A federal choose briefly blocked the freeze, which the White Home says does not have an effect on people, however federal cost portals are glitching.

A federal choose ordered a brief halt on President Donald Trump’s federal assist spending freeze amid panic and confusion in regards to the freeze itself, what it might have an effect on, and why some federal assist websites like Medicaid seemed to be shut down Tuesday night.

Whereas welfare packages that assist people like Social Safety ought to stay unaffected, the freeze might disrupt trillions of {dollars} in well being care analysis, education schemes and different initiatives, together with grants. US District Choose Loren AliKhan blocked the order till subsequent week simply minutes earlier than it was set to enter impact Tuesday night, the Related Press reported.

Earlier than AliKhan paused the spending freeze by Monday, Massachusetts Legal professional Normal Andrea Campbell, together with almost two dozen different state AGs, sued the Trump administration in federal court docket in Rhode Island.

AliKhan’s short-term block stemmed from a separate lawsuit, Campbell’s workplace mentioned.

Campbell famous in a press launch that Massachusetts receives greater than $20 billion in federal funding yearly and employs almost 3,000 individuals by federal grants. The lawsuit appears to instantly halt the help freeze and “protect important funding” for well being, infrastructure, catastrophe reduction, and extra, Campbell’s workplace mentioned.

“At present’s motion sends a transparent message to the Trump Administration that attorneys basic will proceed to do our jobs to guard our residents and state economies, and maintain anybody, together with the President, accountable for inflicting them hurt,” Campbell mentioned in a press release.

Campbell, in addition to attorneys basic from New York, California, Illinois, New Jersey and Rhode Island first led the go well with, whereas the attorneys basic of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia all joined later. 

Trump’s freeze targets ‘DEI, woke gender ideology, and the inexperienced new deal’

In response to one among Trump’s greater than 300 govt orders, the Workplace of Administration and Finances launched a memo Monday that known as on federal businesses to “briefly pause” all actions associated to the monetary help, efficient Tuesday at 5 p.m. 

“This short-term pause will present the Administration time to evaluation company packages and decide the most effective makes use of of the funding for these packages according to the regulation and the President’s priorities,” the memo mentioned, affecting “actions that could be implicated by the manager orders, together with, however not restricted to, monetary help for international assist, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the inexperienced new deal.”

However, “Nothing on this memo ought to be construed to influence Medicare or Social Safety advantages,” a footnote learn.

White Home Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt additional clarified throughout her first briefing Tuesday that particular person advantages together with Social Safety, Medicare, SNAP, and welfare wouldn’t be affected by the freeze.

“This isn’t a blanket pause on federal help in grant packages from the Trump administration,” Leavitt mentioned. “Nevertheless, it’s the duty of this president and this administration to be good stewards of taxpayer {dollars}.”

Medicaid, different low-income providers websites down, sparking panic

Leavitt addressed lingering questions in regards to the freeze Tuesday whereas the Medicaid cost system web site was reportedly shut down, in line with a number of governors and legislators, which seemingly contradicted the Trump administration’s declare that the freeze wouldn’t have an effect on advantages obtained by people.

The AP reported on the obvious glitch that left Medicaid and Head Begin workers scrambling to cowl payroll and different funds after they had been locked out of their system.

Massachusetts Rep. Katherine Clark, wrote on X that information that people received’t be affected is “BS,” referring particularly to Head Begin organizations not having the ability to entry their cost web site Tuesday afternoon. 

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren additionally famous on X that she heard from a transitional housing nonprofit for veterans, who mentioned Trump’s shutdown of funding “might imply some veterans face eviction.” Warren didn’t title the nonprofit.

Rep. Richard Neal, who represents Western and Central Massachusetts, mentioned that well being facilities throughout the state “are unable to entry their Fee Administration System.” 

“That is how they receives a commission by the federal authorities. That’s 2 million individuals in MA whose medical health insurance is in danger,” Neal wrote.

Leavitt reiterated on X that the Medicaid portal outage can be again on-line and that no funds had been affected.

“The White Home is conscious of the Medicaid web site portal outage. We’ve confirmed no funds have been affected — they’re nonetheless being processed and despatched. We count on the portal can be again on-line shortly,” Leavitt wrote.