Arizona to join lawsuit to block Trump's federal spending freeze
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Arizona is joining with other states to sue President Donald Trump over his sweeping federal grant freeze that is set to go into effect Tuesday evening, according to the Attorney General's Office.
State and local government leaders, as well as those who run or rely on federally funded programs, were scrambling on Tuesday to find out exactly how the payment freeze would impact them.
The Grand Canyon State will join New York, California, Illinois and other states in a lawsuit to block the spending freeze, Richie Taylor, a spokesman for Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, told the Arizona Mirror. The legal challenge is expected to be filed in the Southern District of New York.
'Children could miss out on school lunches, victims of crime could lose critical assistance, and law enforcement agencies could be defunded across the country if it stands,' Mayes wrote in a statement on social media Tuesday. 'This is a blatant violation of federal law and we will not allow it to stand.'
The impact of the payment freeze could be monumental, according to figures from The Pew Charitable Trusts.
'The federal government gave $1 trillion in grants to states in fiscal year 2022, the most recent year U.S. Census grants data is available. That was a record high, representing 36.4% of states' total revenue,' Rebecca Thiess, manager at The Pew Charitable Trusts, said in a statement. 'Federal grant funding helps states pay for public services, such as health care, education, transportation, and infrastructure. States are currently facing tighter budgets than in recent years due to the expiration of federal pandemic aid and stagnating tax collections, among other challenges.'
Some of the programs that are set to be paused temporarily while Trump's Office of Management and Budget reviews which federal spending it deems appropriate include:
Department of Agriculture's tribal food sovereignty program
Head Start, a program that helps prepare young children from low-income families for school
Veterans' Affairs Department's suicide prevention and legal services grants Low-Income Home Energy Assistance
Numerous sexual assault prevention programs within the U.S. Department of Justice.
'We are still evaluating the full impacts of this reckless action, but one thing is clear: this is creating chaos for Veterans, law enforcement, domestic violence shelters and the children of working families,' Gov. Katie Hobbs posted on social media. 'I will not stand by while everyday people in my state are harmed.'
The city of Phoenix alone relies on $3.255 billion in federal grants, according to Mayor Kate Gallego, with more than $1.6 billion of that still outstanding. Phoenix's police and fire departments could lose more than $35 million.
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