RI, Mass. Sue Trump Administration Over Freeze in Federal Funding

The U.S. Office of Management and Budget issued a memo describing a temporary pause in federal grant, loan and other financial assistance programs

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell speaks at a press conference in Boston on June 8, 2023.
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell speaks at a press conference in Boston on June 8, 2023.
Credit: Jodi Hilton / Special to The Public’s Radio
Share
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell speaks at a press conference in Boston on June 8, 2023.
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell speaks at a press conference in Boston on June 8, 2023.
Credit: Jodi Hilton / Special to The Public’s Radio
RI, Mass. Sue Trump Administration Over Freeze in Federal Funding
Copy

Attorneys General Peter Neronha of Rhode Island and Andrea Campbell of Massachusetts have joined a coalition of other AGs in suing the Trump Administration over its sudden freeze in federal spending via grants, loans and other avenues.

“What a ham-handed way to run the government,” Neronha said at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.

In total, attorneys general from 22 states and Washington, D.C. joined the lawsuit, which was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island on Tuesday. They described the executive branch’s freezing of federal funds as “unconstitutional,” “unlawful” and “reckless.”

“The president’s directive to pause federal aid, simply put, violates the separation of powers,” Campbell said. Massachusetts, she said, received more than $20 billion in federal funding last year.

This story was reported by The Public’s Radio. You can read the entire story here.

Communities across the U.S. could lose critical public broadcasting support as bipartisan Senate voices challenge $9B in proposed cuts, calling them politically driven and potentially harmful
Housing, cats, AG’s office come out on top. Plus, Republicans make a plan for 2026
Rhode Island and the rest of the Northeast sweltered through record-breaking heat, with temperatures soaring into the 90s and beyond—before a sharp cool-down is expected to bring dramatic relief by week’s end
A U.S. House vote to rescind funding threatens about 10% of the operating budget for The Public’s Radio and Rhode Island PBS—jeopardizing local journalism, education programs, and community coverage
As fish stocks slowly recover, tighter regulations, climate change, and corporate consolidation are transforming the once open-access, family-run world of commercial fishing