Office of Governor Tony Evers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 28, 2025
Contact: [email protected] 
 
Gov. Evers, AG Kaul Join Lawsuit to Stop Trump Administration from Withholding Critical Federal Investments from Wisconsin
New Trump Administration policy could block billions in federal funding for healthcare, public schools, law enforcement, and disaster relief, among other key programs
MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul today announced Wisconsin is joining a coalition of states in a lawsuit to immediately stop a new Trump Administration policy aimed at unilaterally forcing all federal agencies to stop nearly all federal assistance and grant and loan funding that support kids, families, and communities in Wisconsin and across our country. The Trump Administration’s new policy would immediately jeopardize critical federal benefits and investments that provide crucial health and childcare services, support public schools, combat hate crimes and violence against women, and provide life-saving disaster relief to states, among other critical programs. According to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, Wisconsin is estimated to receive $28.2 billion in appropriated federal investments over the 2023-25 biennium.

This announcement comes as earlier today, Gov. Evers sent a letter to President Trump urging him to reconsider the Trump Administration’s new policy, arguing that “these actions could have disastrous consequences for the people of Wisconsin and our state.” The governor urged the administration to delay the policy’s implementation until the federal government could provide “immediate guidance, information, and clarification for how these memoranda will impact federal support that goes to kids, families, communities, and states.”

“This was a sweeping, reckless decision that has caused unnecessary chaos and panic in Wisconsin and across our country. Wisconsin’s kids, families, veterans, law enforcement, seniors, and Wisconsinites in every corner of our state depend upon our federal tax dollars to support basic, everyday needs and services,” said Gov. Evers. “I cannot accept that Wisconsin families, communities, and local programs may have the rug yanked out from under them, and I will do everything I can to stop that from happening.”

“The Trump administration’s freeze of vital funding—apparently including funding for law enforcement, victim services, health programs, infrastructure, education, and much, much more—has already resulted in widespread uncertainty and confusion,” said Attorney General Kaul. “This misguided and unlawful policy must be blocked before it leads to substantial harm to services and programs that are critical for Wisconsinites.”

The Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) policy, issued late on January 27, directs all federal agencies to indefinitely pause the majority of federal assistance funding and loans to states and other entities beginning at 5 p.m.ET today, January 28. As today’s lawsuit explains, OMB’s policy has caused immediate chaos and uncertainty for millions of Americans who rely upon programs that receive these federal funds. Essential community health centers, addiction and mental health treatment programs, services for people with disabilities, and other critical health services are jeopardized by OMB’s policy.

The lawsuit also argues that jeopardizing federal funding for states will put Americans in danger by depriving law enforcement of much-needed resources. OMB’s policy would pause support for the U.S. Department of Justice’s initiatives to combat hate crimes and violence against women, support community policing, and provide services to victims of crimes. In addition, Gov. Evers, Attorney General Kaul, and the coalition of states note that the OMB policy would halt essential disaster relief funds to places like California and North Carolina, where tens of thousands of residents are relying on FEMA grants to rebuild their lives after devastating wildfires and floods.

While the administration has attempted to clarify the scope and meaning of the OMB policy, states previously reported that several federal programs have been frozen, jeopardizing services like Medicaid across the country. As part of their lawsuit, they argue that OMB’s policy violates the Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act by imposing a government-wide stop to spending without any regard for the laws and regulations that govern each source of federal funding. The lawsuit argues that the president cannot decide to unilaterally override laws governing federal spending and that OMB’s policy unconstitutionally overrides Congress’ power to decide how federal funds are spent.

States and Cities joining Wisconsin in this lawsuit include New York, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia.

A copy of the filing is available here.
 
An online version of this release is available here.
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