What Trump's funding freeze could mean for universities, nonprofits and more

 Washington Times - A White House directive to pause federal grants and loans raised uncertainty and fears among many who depend on federal aid before a judge intervened Tuesday to temporarily block it from taking effect... A federal judge blocked the directive just minutes before it was to kick in Tuesday. The order placed it on hold until next Monday while legal wrangling continues.

States on average receive about 30% of their revenues from the federal government, according to Federal Funds Information for States, a nonprofit that analyzes the effect of federal actions on states...

“If the federal government coughs, Maryland catches pneumonia,” state Senate President Bill Ferguson said Tuesday, while discussing how the grant freeze could affect the state...

University of North Carolina administrators sent a campus email urging patience until decisions can be confirmed directly from federal agencies. “The messaging is, ‘Try not to panic, and sit tight,’” said psychology professor Keely Muscatell. “But I also think it’s a lot easier said than done.”

A University of Florida memo obtained by the Associated Press indicates that the university is advising faculty to continue grant-related activities unless they have been specially told that the research has been suspended.

But at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., researchers said they were told to stop work on grant-funded projects. If the funding freeze goes forward, scientists may miss deadlines to present and share their work, said researcher Lorna Quandt, who has a grant application pending to fund interpreters to accompany deaf students to an upcoming conference.

The Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities said a freeze would “sideline world-leading American scientists who are working toward cures for cancer, developing breakthroughs in AI and quantum computing, driving progress in advanced manufacturing, and supporting American farmers.”

For many highway projects that are partially funded by federal grants, states pay the contractors directly then seek reimbursement from the federal government....

Some operators of federally funded Head Start centers, which work with 800,000 kids and low-income families nationwide, initially were concerned that the freeze could mean closing their doors as soon Wednesday. Operators logged on to a website where they typically draw down their federal grants and discovered they no longer had access to the money, which they need to pay their employees and vendors...

A coalition of nonprofit groups filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the funding freeze. The nonprofit Democracy Forward, a public interest litigation group, wrote that the White House’s memo fails to explain its legal authority “to gut every grant program in the federal government.”

The National Science Foundation postponed this week’s grant review panels and is pausing the distribution of new or existing awards.

The National Crime Victim Law Institute described the Trump administration action as a “devastating blow” to nonprofits such as the institute.

Tribal nations, “more so than almost any other community, will be negatively impacted” by a freeze on federal funding, said John Echohawk, executive director of the Native American Rights Fund. He said tribal nations rely on federal funding for public safety, healthcare, education, infrastructure “and the basic needs of our most vulnerable citizens.”..

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein said on X he is “concerned that freezing federal funding will hurt North Carolinians, especially those recovering” from Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina. Stein, a Democrat, said he is seeking clarity from federal officials and working to ensure people in the storm-affected areas get the support they need.

The federal government also supports state programs that fund billions of dollars in drinking water and sewage infrastructure. Money the federal government already sent out could probably be used, but the pause calls into question new spending, said Alan Roberson, executive director of the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators.