Federal Judge temporarily pauses the freeze in separate lawsuit filed by Democracy Forward
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield announced today that the state will bring a lawsuit with 22 other states, challenging the Trump administration’s decision to freeze critical federal grants.
“In the past 24 hours, an order from the White House has impacted billions of dollars in funds that Oregonians rely on for healthcare, food, public safety, housing and more,” said Attorney General Dan Rayfield. “The President is playing politics with our day to day lives, all to advance his agenda. He has a history of punishing states with whom he disagrees.”
Oregon joins 22 other states and the District of Columbia in this lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Rhode Island today. The goal is to put an immediate halt on the freeze, which has already affected payments going out to the underserved and vulnerable populations and the agencies that serve them.
In a separate lawsuit filed by the Democracy Forward, U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan temporarily paused part of the President’s directive. AliKhan ordered the Trump administration not to block funds that were already scheduled to be sent out, until at least February 3rd.
Building on the temporary relief obtained by Democracy Forward, Oregon and the other states will seek permanent injunctive and declaratory relief, to ensure that their residents are protected against the damage and chaos that would be caused by the funding freeze.
“This funding comes from federal tax dollars that Oregonians have paid,” said Rayfield. “Not getting these funds could mean some families will, for example, lose access to basic medical services—because clinics will have to reduce hours and cut staff. This is just another attempt by President Trump to sow chaos and the people who rely on this money will suffer irreparable harm.”
Rayfield joined Governor Tina Kotek Tuesday to talk about the lawsuit and the harmful impacts to the cuts will have to Oregonians. To see the full press conference, click here.