New York Attorney General Letitia James recently welcomed a court decision to block United States (US) President Donald Trump from withholding trillions of dollars in funding which states rely on to provide essential services to millions of Americans, including Caribbean immigrants.
The US District Court for the District of Rhode Island on Friday granted James and the coalition of 22 attorneys general’s request for a temporary restraining order, halting the implementation of the administration’s policy.
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This temporary restraining order extends beyond the January 28 administrative stay granted by the US District Court for the District of Columbia in response to a lawsuit brought by non-profit groups that receive federal funds.
The proposed policy, as initially articulated by the president’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) last Monday, would put an indefinite pause on the majority of federal assistance, jeopardizing funds for healthcare, education, law enforcement, disaster relief, infrastructure, and more.
On Tuesday, James and attorneys general from 22 other states sued to immediately stop the enforcement of this policy and preserve trillions of dollars in essential funding.
“This administration’s reckless plan to block federal funding has already caused chaos, confusion, and conflict throughout our country,” James, who led the coalition, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC). “In the short time since this policy was announced, families have been cut off from childcare services, essential Medicaid funds were disrupted, and critical law enforcement efforts were put in jeopardy.
“I led a coalition of attorneys general in suing to stop this cruel policy, and today we won a court order to stop it,” she added.
The president cannot unilaterally halt congressional spending commitments.
The lawsuit was led by James and the attorneys general of California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Rhode Island.
“I will continue to fight against these illegal cuts and protect essential services that New Yorkers and millions of Americans across the country depend on,” James continued.
But, she said while the Trump administration has rescinded the memo announcing the policy, states, and organizations that receive federal funding continue to be at risk for major disruptions.
Following the first announcement of the policy, James said Medicaid funds in New York and multiple other states were frozen, and Head Start programs across the country were cut off from funds, leading some childcare centers to close.
“The chaos continues,” she said.
Caribbean-American Democratic Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke also strongly condemned as “unconstitutional” the suspension of Congressionally approved domestic and international grant funding.
“Today, we have witnessed Donald Trump order one of the most transparently unconstitutional actions ever taken by an American president – an illegal decision that was openly and proudly written by the authors of Project 2025, Donald Trump’s step-by-step manifesto to destroy American democracy,” Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, told CMC on Tuesday.
“Make no mistake; today’s action represents a significant step towards achieving that goal,” added the representative for the 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, New York. (CMC)
