{"id":2402376,"date":"2025-02-13T14:37:01","date_gmt":"2025-02-13T19:37:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democratic-governors-challenge-trumps-federal-funding-freeze-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-02-13T14:38:58","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T19:38:58","slug":"democratic-governors-challenge-trumps-federal-funding-freeze-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democratic-governors-challenge-trumps-federal-funding-freeze-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Democratic governors challenge Trump\u2019s federal funding freeze &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdemocratic-governors-challenge-trumps-federal-funding-freeze-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2402376&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Democratic governors\u2062 Josh Shapiro \u2064of\u200b Pennsylvania and Andy Beshear of Kentucky are challenging\u2062 the Trump administration&#8217;s \u200brecent freeze on federal funding, which they claim is unlawfully withholding over $1.2\u200c billion in grants.\u2062 Shapiro \u200dhas filed a complaint in U.S. District Court\u2062 for the Eastern District \u2063of Pennsylvania,\u200c stating that Pennsylvania&#8217;s agencies are being denied access to crucial funds \u200dfor\u2062 various\u2064 programs \u200ddespite <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">court orders requiring restoration<\/a> of those funds. <\/p>\n<p>The ongoing dispute stems \u200dfrom a directive issued by Trump to\u2062 freeze federal grants\u200b while \u2063spending \u200bpriorities are\u2062 reassessed,\u200c a move that\u200b opponents argue undermines Congressional authority and existing agreements with states.\u2062 Shapiro \u200bemphasized the\u200b federal government&#8217;s promise to provide essential\u200d funding, stating that the withheld resources are\u2063 critical\u2064 for public health, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/steve-scalise-looks-to-rally-support-behind-sweeping-energy-cost-reduction-bill\/\" title=\"Steve Scalise looks to rally support behind sweeping energy cost reduction bill\">energy cost reduction<\/a>, and\u200b job \u200dcreation.\u200d <\/p>\n<p>Shapiro and Beshear&#8217;s legal action marks their first significant move against the Trump administration since he took office, and both governors are viewed as potential Democratic presidential candidates for\u2063 2028.\u200b temporary federal court orders have been\u2064 issued \u2063to block\u2063 the funding freeze,\u2063 but some components of\u200d the directive remain in affect.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Democratic governors challenge Trump&rsquo;s federal funding freeze<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1991292\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Democratic governors <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/josh-shapiro\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Josh Shapiro<\/a> of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/pennsylvania\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Pennsylvania<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/andy-beshear\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Andy Beshear<\/a> of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kentucky\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Kentucky<\/a> joined the legal fight against the Trump administration on Thursday, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fbi-faces-criticism-on-both-sides-over-handling-of-politically-sensitive-matters\/\" title=\"FBI criticized for handling politically sensitive matters.\">accusing federal agencies<\/a> of withholding over $1.2 billion in grants despite court orders.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Shapiro&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/pa.gov\/content\/dam\/copapwp-pagov\/en\/governor\/documents\/shapiro%20v.%20interior%20complaint.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">complaint<\/a>, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, says Pennsylvania agencies remain cut off from critical funds for infrastructure, energy assistance, and environmental programs.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro speaks during the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo\/Matt Rourke)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;Governor Josh Shapiro and members of Pennsylvania&rsquo;s agencies have been working with federal partners and legislators to try to fully restore access to these funds,&rdquo; the lawsuit stated. &ldquo;Despite that work, and despite two temporary restraining orders requiring federal agencies to restore access to suspended funds, federal agencies continue to deny Pennsylvania agencies funding that they are entitled to receive.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>A press release about the governor&rsquo;s lawsuits alleged that an additional $900 million in grants remain flagged and require an &ldquo;undefined&rdquo; review, delaying projects crucial to the state&rsquo;s economic and environmental goals.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;While Commonwealth agencies cannot draw from certain federal accounts, they are stuck incurring debts and obligations in federally approved projects that the Trump Administration currently is refusing to reimburse,&rdquo; the press release stated.<\/p>\n<p>Neither Pennsylvania nor Kentucky had previously participated in the litigation, as both states have Republican attorneys general. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaks at a press conference at the Governor&rsquo;s Mansion in Frankfort, Ky., Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo\/Timothy D. Easley, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Rather than filing his own suit, Beshear&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.rid.58912\/gov.uscourts.rid.58912.114.0.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">joined<\/a>&nbsp;the suit brought by&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3306097\/judge-halts-trump-federal-aid-freeze-at-request-of-22-states\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">22 states and the District of Columbia<\/a>, and a coalition of advocacy groups.<\/p>\n<p>The dispute stems from a Trump directive issued earlier this month freezing federal grants while the administration reexamines spending priorities. Opponents, including Shapiro, argue it defies Congress&rsquo;s authority over federal appropriations and abrogates existing contracts between the federal government and states.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The federal government has entered into a contract with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, promising to provide billions of dollars in Congressionally-approved funding that we have committed to serious needs &ndash; like protecting public health, cutting energy costs, providing safe, clean drinking water, and creating jobs in rural communities,&rdquo; Shapiro said.<\/p>\n<p>Thursday&rsquo;s developments mark the first major legal bid by the two state governors since Trump took office. Both Beshear and Shapiro are considered among the Democrats who could run for president in 2028.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>CLICK HERE&nbsp;TO&nbsp;READ MORE&nbsp;FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Trump administration has defended the freeze as a temporary step to reassess spending and ensure no dollars are being spent on unlawful programs, such as diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives that Trump ordered defunded as part of his first-week agenda, among other matters.<\/p>\n<p>Two federal judges have issued temporary orders blocking the policy. However, one judge who has imposed a restraining order, U.S. District Judge John McConnell, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3318269\/judge-affirms-trump-some-authority-pause-spending\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">conceded that his order<\/a> does not prohibit efforts to withhold tens of millions of dollars for migrant housing in New York stemming from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1991292\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1991292\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Democratic governors Shapiro and Beshear challenge Trump&#8217;s funding freeze<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2402377,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/ANDY-BESHEAR-JOSH-SHAPIRO.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[33842,36513,32603,32640,32076],"class_list":["post-2402376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-democratic-governors","tag-federal-funding","tag-political-news","tag-trump-administration","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/ANDY-BESHEAR-JOSH-SHAPIRO.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2402376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2402376"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2402376\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2402380,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2402376\/revisions\/2402380"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2402377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2402376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2402376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2402376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}