President Trump may have lost the battle in attempting to freeze all federal funding last week, but New York City pols warned Sunday that they’re ready to fight any future attempts on his part to try again.
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand did not hold back when she spoke to journalists inside her Midtown office on Feb. 2 and unloaded a wave of criticism on Trump for trying to freeze federal funding via executive order. Trump eventually rescinded the order in the face of several legal challenges that resulted.
The senator reminded that Trump’s initial order undermined Congress’ “power of the purse,” as constitutionally, the House and Senate control federal spending via legislation. Though the president backed down this time, she believes he will try once more to put a halt on all federal funding.
“We know one thing about President Trump: he cannot be trusted,” Gillibrand said. “He may have lost the first battle, but he is still waging this war against the American people and against these safety net programs that keep Americans stable, that keep kids and seniors from going hungry, that keep our organizations that meet the needs of those without health care or housing.”
According to Attorney General Letitia James, the freeze is currently on a 14-day hold that prevents Trump from taking further action until a court hearing in the coming week. Although elected officials say the danger is over for now, they also say they are striving to educate the public on the ramifications they believe the freeze would have had if it had gone into effect.
“Our most vulnerable communities rely upon these funds for support services, from fighting hunger to providing shelter for our unhoused neighbors to ensuring our seniors are well cared for,” James said. “We put forth evidence that demonstrated that this policy represented irreparable harm, not only to New York but all across to states all across this country; protecting programs like these are exactly why we go to court.”
While Gillibrand said that New Yorkers might shrug it off when they hear “federal funding freeze,” believing that they will not be impacted, the senator strove to sound the alarm, railing that the consequences could be far-reaching and touch many different people from contrasting walks of life.
She reported that counter-terrorism operations budgets would have been seriously impacted, leaving targeted groups like synagogues vulnerable.
Firefighters would lose money to purchase protective equipment, which would put both first responders and the public at risk.
Budgets for senior programs like Meals on Wheels and Medicaid would be slashed, putting an already vulnerable population in a deeply compromised state.
Gillibrand says she believes this is Trump’s goal — to sow the seeds of chaos and hope no one pays attention.
“The American people, they’re going to turn this off. This is too much for people to receive — It’s too much chaos, it’s too much fear, it’s too much confusion. That is just the truth, and they’re just going to turn it off and say: ‘Well, none of this is going to affect me. None of this is going to matter.’ That’s not true,” Gillibrand said. “What we know he wants to do is give tax benefits to billionaires, to the wealthiest among us.”
