WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and U.S. Representative Jill Tokuda (D-HI) released the following statement condemning President Donald Trump’s federal funding freeze:
“Eight days into his dictatorship, President Trump has mandated a federal funding freeze that will cost Hawaii hundreds of millions in federal support. Even a ‘temporary’ freeze will create a lapse in funding for disaster relief efforts in Lahaina, as well as crucial programs like Medicaid; Head Start; nutrition assistance programs like SNAP, WIC, school lunch programs; and many more.
“Instead of lowering costs for families like he promised, Donald Trump is breaking the law in a desperate attempt to destroy programs that keep our keiki fed, enable our kupuna to access health care, support our local businesses, and keep our communities functioning. With these, and other cuts to programs that support our families and communities, Trump is setting the stage to pay for the trillions in tax cuts for billionaires on the backs of working people. We are relieved that a court has temporarily blocked this blatantly illegal order, but we know this fight is not over and will continue to do everything in our power to protect the programs Hawaii and our country rely on.”
Last night, Trump’s White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) sent out a memo ordering all federal agencies to temporarily block disbursements of federal grants and loans. Specifically, the memo instructs federal agencies to “temporarily pause all activities related to obligations or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance.” OMB says the temporary pause—which should not impact Social Security, Medicare, and other programs providing direct aid to individuals—is to ensure that federal agencies are complying with Trump’s executive orders to ban diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, limit clean energy spending, and end financial assistance for foreign aid.
The memo was scheduled to go into effect today, Tuesday January 28, 2025, at 5:00 pm ET.
The full text of the OMB memo can be found here.
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