California Congressman for District 15, Kevin Mullin, has joined 153 House Democrats in sending a letter to the Office of Management and Budget urging the Trump administration to disclose a full list of initiatives affected by frozen federal funding, which directly impacts local governments.
The Trump administration announced a plan to freeze virtually all federal funding for essential services, harming communities across the country and increasing costs for Americans.
This reckless action, Mullin said in a statement, blocks funding to pay teachers, support first responders, sustain life-saving medical research and more.
The San Mateo County native noted that, according to federal data from last month, at least $675 million in pending grant funds for California District 15 alone could be withheld, and billions of dollars are at risk for future programs.
Much of this funding has already been allocated to communities, Mullin said, adding that Trump's directives to the Office of Management and Budget greatly exceed their constitutional limits by blatantly ignoring the fact that Congress, not the president, has the power over the money.
“The Trump Administration’s decision to freeze federal funding approved by Congress is dangerously cruel and incredibly damaging to communities that rely on aid for critical services and necessary infrastructure improvements,” Mullin said.
She added that this freeze will have direct negative consequences for programs in California's District 15, such as early childhood education and community college programs, affordable housing developments and rental assistance for low-income housing, and support for advancements in the life sciences.
“Much of this funding had already been awarded to cities and grant recipients, and the Trump Administration’s failure to honor these federal commitments is an unlawful disgrace. This is a reckless decision that will ultimately hurt hard-working Americans and increase costs for communities across the country,” he explained.
In addition, he said, it will disrupt popular projects funded by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act (BIL).
In that regard, Congressman Mullin explained that communities across the country depend on this essential funding to build new roads and bridges, expand access to broadband, strengthen infrastructure against natural disasters, and much more.
“Neither the vaguely worded executive order nor a subsequent memo from Trump’s acting Office of Management and Budget director Matthew Vaeth and National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett make clear what projects, programs and activities are frozen,” he said.
Rep. Mullin will also join his House Democratic colleagues to determine appropriate steps they can take to defend against this presidential overreach.
On Tuesday, January 28, a federal judge temporarily blocked Trump's freeze on federal funds until Monday, February 3, 2025.
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