On Tuesday, a coalition of states including California filed a lawsuit that led to a temporary stay of a sweeping order freezing trillions of dollars in federal assistance that impacts people across all walks of life.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta and New York Attorney General Letitia James led the coalition of 23 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to block implementation of a memo by the Office of Management and Budget, or OMB, threatening to freeze up to $3 trillion in federal assistance funding including more than 2,600 programs effective at 2 p.m. Tuesday.

The attorneys general were successful in their bid for a temporary restraining order to block the memo from taking effect, citing immediate harm to their states due to the potential to lose billions of dollars in funding for critical health and safety programs.

They argued the OMB directive violates the U.S. Constitution, violates the Administrative Procedure Act, and is arbitrary and capricious.

The attorneys general also argued that Congress has not delegated any unilateral authority to OMB to indefinitely pause all federal financial assistance under any circumstance, and that the order violates the “separation of powers” between Congress and the Executive Branch because the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution gives the power of the purse exclusively to Congress.

Bonta’s office said the order has already thrown state programs into chaos and created uncertainty around their administration, with impacted programs including disaster-relief funding necessary for Los Angeles’ recovery from recent wildfires, as well as public health, education, public safety and government programs.

“The Trump Administration is recklessly disregarding the health, wellbeing, and public safety of the people it is supposed to serve,” said Attorney General Bonta. “This directive is unprecedented in scope and would be devastating if implemented. Already, it has created chaos and confusion among our residents. I will not stand by while the president attempts to disrupt vital programs that feed our kids, provide medical care to our families, and support housing and education in our communities. Instead of learning from the defeats of his first administration, President Trump is once again plowing ahead with a damaging – and most importantly, unlawful – agenda. I’m proud to co-lead a coalition of attorneys general in taking him to court.”

The suit argued that the OMB directive freezing federal funding less than 24 hours after it was announced will cause immediate and irreparable harm to the states every day that it is in effect — in the form of millions of dollars in funds and mass regulatory chaos.

Bonta’s office said the order would have devastating consequences for California in particular, given the uncertainty around continued disbursement of Federal Emergency Management Agency funding that is essential for recovery from the Los Angeles wildfires, which have caused an estimated $150 billion in economic losses.

Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-04), whose district includes Lake County, called the Trump Administration’s actions “alarming.”

“These funds were lawfully appropriated by Congress and are owed to the American people. In freezing them, the administration has unleashed chaos on states, localities, American families, nonprofits, and businesses across our country,” Thompson said.

Thompson said the Trump Administration is blocking funds for firefighting and disaster relief, housing assistance, veterans’ care, food banks and food assistance, Medicaid, childcare, farmers, small businesses, military readiness and more, which he called “unacceptable.”

All of those programs are important in Lake County, where policing programs have received federal aid, and where there is a large per capita veterans population, agriculture is a major industry sector, and there is high poverty and food insecurity.

“I continue to do all I can to help ensure all federal resources are delivered in accordance with the law. One week ago, the President swore an oath to faithfully execute our laws and protect the Constitution. He owes it to the American people to comply with the lawful disbursement of federal funds owed to American taxpayers,” said Thompson. “The call is coming from inside the building and the American people are being ripped off.”

Sen. Alex Padilla, who also raised alarm about Trump’s actions, called on his Republican colleagues to not confirm Russell Vought to be OMB director until Trump reverses “this reckless order.”

Padilla also provided a list of key areas where the funding would have serious impacts.

That list follows.

Disaster relief: Public assistance and hazard mitigation grants from the Disaster Relief Fund to state, tribal, territorial, and local governments and non-profits to help communities quickly respond to, recover from, and prepare for major disasters will be halted — right as so many Southern California communities are struggling amid the recent fires.

Firefighting: Grants to support firefighters across the country will be halted. This includes grants that help states and localities purchase essential firefighting equipment.

Public safety: Grants for law enforcement and homeland security activities will cease to go out the door, undermining public safety in every state and territory.

Infrastructure projects: All federally-funded transportation projects — roads, bridges, public transit, and more — will be halted, including projects already under construction.

Homelessness/housing: In the midst of a homelessness and housing crisis, the Trump Administration is freezing housing and homelessness funding, which will exacerbate our housing crisis.

988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: Funding for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline that Senator Padilla significantly improved, as well as grants for mental health services, will be cut off.

Nutrition assistance: Millions of American citizens who rely on nutrition assistance programs like school lunch programs will be left hungry as funding is cut off and non-profits who provide additional assistance lose federal funding.

Combating the fentanyl crisis: Funding for communities to address the substance use disorder crisis and combat the fentanyl crisis will be cut off.

Emergency Preparedness: Critical preparedness and response capability funding used to prepare for disasters, public health emergencies, and chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear events will be frozen.

Child care: Child care programs across the country will not be able to access the funding they rely on to keep their doors open.

K-12 Schools: Federal funding for K-12 schools will be halted. School districts may not be able to access key formula grant funding including Title I, IDEA, Impact Aid, and Career and Technical Education, which would pose tremendous financial burdens on schools in the middle of the school year.

Biomedical research: There will be immediate pauses on all funding for critical health research, including research on cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and diabetes, as well as clinical trials at the NIH Clinical Center and all across the country — disrupting lifesaving and often time-sensitive research.

Higher education and job training: Millions of students relying on federal student loans and federal work study will have their plans to pursue postsecondary education and further their careers thrown into chaos as federal financial aid disbursements are paused.

Health services: Federal funding for community health centers that provide health care for over 30 million Americans will be immediately frozen, creating chaos for patients trying to get their prescriptions, a regular checkup and more.

Small businesses: The Small Business Administration will have to halt loans to small businesses — including those in disaster-ravaged California communities.

Veterans care: Federal grants to help veterans in rural areas access health care and grants to help veterans get other critical services, including suicide prevention resources, transition assistance, and housing for homeless veterans, will be cut off.

Tribes: Funding to tribes for basic government services like health care, public safety, programs, tribal schools, and food assistance will be halted.

Preventing violence against women: All Violence Against Women Act grants, as well as funding for victims assistance and state and local police, will be cut off.

U.S. competitiveness: Existing grants to support research for artificial intelligence and quantum computing will be halted and any new grant funding would be paused — undermining U.S. innovation and competitiveness with China and putting California jobs at risk.

Energy jobs: Grants for critical energy projects nationwide will be cut off — halting billions of dollars in investment nationwide and jeopardizing good-paying American jobs. The Department of Energy Loan Program Office will halt loans in 28 states, impacting hundreds of thousands of construction and operations jobs.

Food inspections: Some states will have to take on the full financial burden of ensuring the nation’s meat supply is safe if federal cooperative agreements for meat inspection are halted.

Support for servicemembers: Support for a host of Department of Defense financial assistance and grant programs supporting servicemembers and their families will be halted, including the Fisher House, Impact Aid, community noise mitigation, ROTC language training, STEM programs, and the USO.

Military readiness: Grants and other assistance appropriated to strengthen military effectiveness and defense capacity will be halted, including Defense Production Act support for the defense industrial base, basic research grants necessary to advance key technologies, and small business support to strengthen supply chains.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, and on Bluesky, @erlarson.bsky.social. Find Lake County News on the following platforms: Facebook, @LakeCoNews; X, @LakeCoNews; Threads, @lakeconews, and on Bluesky, @lakeconews.bsky.social.