ST. PAUL — At a Tuesday afternoon press conference at the St. Paul Eastside YMCA’s child care center, Gov. Tim Walz, Lt. Gov Peggy Flanagan and Attorney General Keith Ellison spoke about how President Donald Trump’s executive action Monday to freeze federal funding could affect Minnesota.
The federal funding freeze from Trump Monday night, which was temporarily blocked by a judge Tuesday night, Jan. 28, asked for a freeze in federal funding to evaluate if almost $3 trillion in funds aligned with Trump’s priorities. The two-page memo from the White House Office of Management and Budget states that federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to “foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the Green New Deal.”
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Walz said Tuesday it's still unclear which Minnesota programs could be affected but pointed to Medicaid, law enforcement, child care, veterans and National Institute of Health funds as possible impact areas.
“I want to tell you we are here to do all we can to protect Minnesotans but I cannot promise you that we can make up the nearly $2 billion a month of our money that is being held illegally by the Trump Administration,” Walz said. “They can’t manage a damn thing, this is just buffoonish.”
Minnesota Commissioner of Management and Budget Erin Campbell said on Tuesday she estimates that the freeze could impact almost $1.9 billion in the state’s budget per month, including Minnesota’s Medicaid funds of about $850 million per month. Campbell also said that thousands of federally funded Minnesota jobs could be affected.
I don’t sit around looking for ways to sue Donald Trump, but in the eight days that he’s been in office, he’s forced me to figure out ways to sue him almost every day because of his violations of the rights of the people of Minnesota.
“We tried to draw down just over $400 million reimbursement for Medicaid [this morning] and that did not work, the Medicaid system was shut down,” Campbell said. “Since then, the Medicaid system has been turned back on, and we've been able to draw down those funds, but it's one example of why this is a very confusing exercise.”
Ellison said that Minnesota joined 22 other Democratic states on Tuesday in filing a lawsuit to stop the federal freeze. The lawsuit cites violations of Congress, separation of power and the Administrative Procedure Act.
“I don’t sit around looking for ways to sue Donald Trump, but in the eight days that he’s been in office, he’s forced me to figure out ways to sue him almost every day because of his violations of the rights of the people of Minnesota,” Ellison said, referencing other recent executive orders from Trump on Birthright Citizenship and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts.
Members of Minnesota's Republican Congressional delegation also commented on Trump's freeze on Tuesday, including Rep. Pete Stauber, R-MN8, and House Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer, R-MN6, who said this should be seen as "good governance."
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"There have been a lot of outright lies from members of the media and desperate Democrat politicians on this issue, including the governor of my home state of Minnesota," Emmer said at a press conference in D.C. on Tuesday. "President Trump is delivering on his promise to ensure your tax dollars are being spent effectively."
The White House rescinded the OMB memo announcing the freeze on Wednesday morning, but stated that the freeze is still in effect.
The Trust Project
