California Atty. Friday, General Rob Bonta joined a coalition of more than 20 states by asking a federal court to intercede once again and forcing the Trump administration to thaw hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funds appropriate by the congress to the States.
In two distinct legal requests, Bonta and 22 other state -of -the -art prosecutors alleged that the administration had ignored a temporary prohibition order previously issued, which forced it to disgust funding. They asked that this ordinance be applied, and that the court issues an additional preliminary injunction blocking the frost further and guaranteeing the release of the funds while the dispute takes place.
“The administration creates widespread chaos and causes irreparable damage to our states and the American people,” said Bonta at a afternoon press conference. “By not respecting the court order, trying to usurp the constitutional responsibility of the congress to hold the Stockings of the Stock Exchange, the president spits in front of our democracy.”
The Trump administration denied the reprehensible acts and said that it was acting within its authority.
The last legal fight pursues a debate that has raged since the Trump budget office published a memo on January 27 which claimed to interrupt the financing of a range of federal programs while the new administration determined which of funding aligned with Trump’s political agenda.
The service note encountered immediate indignation on the part of the Democrats at the Congress, who by law controls the federal budget and heads of state, who began to report the disturbances in the financing of flows supporting vital services in all The country – like Medicaid disbursement systems.
The White House canceled its memo a few days later, and the administration argued that the funding restrictions have not been as widespread as the States argued and that the administration acted, even if it acted well within his authority.
In a response before the courts, the administration wrote that Trump and his management and budget office “clearly have the power of Imences to agencies to fully implement the president’s agenda, in accordance with the statutory authorities under -Jacents of each individual agency ”.
This is what Trump had done with his decrees and what the OMB has done with his service note since, argued the administration.
Trump administration officials have also responded several times to complaints from the State concerning specific disruption of funding with refusals – while simultaneously saluting administration efforts to reduce federal spending thanks to the so -called Ministry of government efficiency of the billionaire Elon Musk.
State representatives said that the White House simply did not tell the truth and that it doesn’t matter what it says publicly, it illegally retains funding.
“A week ago, a court ordered the Trump administration to get rid of 3 -dollars of federal funds with critical state funding still blocked. The administration does not respect this order of the court, “said Bonta.
BONTA said that the financing of $ 3 billions initially targeted by the Trump administration note included funds of more than third party California budget – including $ 107.5 billion in Medicaid funding for around 14.5 million Californians, including 5 million children and 2.3 million elderly and disabled people.
He said the funds have been frozen in a range of programs, including health care, childcare and dishes with foster family; education; Nutritional support programs for children and the elderly; Fund for roads and bridges repairs; The funds which support the workforce of the State, which reduce pollution and which provide discounts and subsidies to clearer, safer and more affordable houses; And programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution along the main Californian corridors – including one between Los Angeles and the Imperial Valley.
They also included funds allocated by the congress under the law on the reduction of inflation and the law on investments and infrastructure jobs, he said.
“These are only a few examples of the programs of people who have been left high and dry due to the illegal and unconstitutional attempt to freeze funding,” he said.
He called on the ongoing freezing on these “illegal and non -American” funds, reflecting a blatant contempt for the rule of law on the part of the president.
“In our country, when a court orders you to do something, you must obey, no matter who you are, including, yes, the president,” said Bonta. “Not to love the aspects of the order does not give you the right to connect your ears, to turn your back on the judge and to claim that this does not happen.”
Bonta said that asking the court to enforce his existing order is “the best way to obtain compliance and get the money that should circulate” and that he thought that states would succeed.
He said that he “speculated” on the reason why the frost had not been completely lifted in accordance with the existing order, but declared that the funding was “simply not sunk” – so the States had to retaliate.
Frozen federal financing reports have proliferated in recent days, including in California. For example, St. John’s Community Health, a network of community clinics in southern California which provides low cost or at no cost, said this week that a federal subsidy for its transgender health program had been terminated, causing A loss of more than $ 740,000.
The subsidy, which was to total more than $ 1.6 million over four years and covered education, case management and “enveloping services” such as prevention, tests and treatment of diseases such as HIV, HIV, Tuberculosis and hepatitis C for transgender patients, were simply invented according to St. John’s.
In an opinion, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States declared that as a subsidy beneficiary, the health center had to immediately end programs “promoting or inculcating gender ideology” supported by the grant . Jim Mangia, president and chief executive officer of St. John’s Community Health, denounced this decision as “illegal and unconstitutional”.
St. John’s later reported that he was unable to reduce an additional dollars of federal funding through Toxicominse and Mental Health Services Administration, which aimed to support mental health services for people transgender and non -binary. The health care network said that the million dollars was the remaining amount of a subsidy allowance of $ 4 million.
Republicans in the congress have generally supported Trump’s efforts, suggesting that they comply with the priorities of the American people. They also confirmed Russ Vought – an architect of the 2025 project and Trump’s budgetary approach – as director of the White House budget this week.
“Russ is a conservative force against the radical left and the establishment of Washington. With his help, we will restore the budgetary mental health of our budgets and dismantle of the regulatory state, “said Chamber Mike Johnson (R-La.).
The head of the majority of the Senate, John Thune (Rs.d.), said that Trump and the Republicans at the Congress were lined up, including the budget.
On Friday, he wrote in an article on X on the federal budget that “the American people gave President Trump a mandate to deliver their key priorities: secure the border, rebuild our defense and release American energy. The time to act is now and the Senate Republicans are ready to roll. »»
The Democrats of Congress who denounced the funding movements of the administration while the illegal power captures continued to do so on Friday.
Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Vice-president of the Senate credit committee, said on Friday that hundreds of billions of dollars appropriate by the congress were still hidden by the administration-illegally.
“The president’s freeze causes real pain to people in all parts of the country – in the red states and the blue states and everywhere between the two – and it must end now,” she said.
California Daily Newspapers
