US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for New Mexico Martin Heinrich
Published: January 28th, 2025
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, is condemning President Trump’s unlawful direction to unilaterally blockade all federal grant funding.
“Our economy, our healthcare system, our schools, our law enforcement and fire departments, our newborns, our elders, our veterans – everyone, everywhere in New Mexico. President Trump is attempting to shove all of this over a cliff,” said Heinrich. “In New Mexico alone, Trump’s blockade on federal funding will make it impossible for thousands to pay rent on February 1st, force tens of thousands of New Mexico students to drop out of college without Pell Grant funding, close hundreds of preschool programs across the state, deprive 7 out of 10 New Mexico children their daily lunch, and cut off federal Medicaid reimbursement – impacting 7 out of 10 nursing home residents, 55% of newborn births, and all health care providers in our state.”
Heinrich continued, “Trump is clearly willing to pummel New Mexicans and the American economy for his twisted and deranged agenda and fragile ego. But the Constitution is clear: the president cannot override, delay, or rescind Congress’s funding laws. We passed these laws to help working families get ahead and put food on the table and create jobs New Mexicans can build their families around. I will fight like hell to undo this brazen, barbaric blockade from this wannabe dictator and his weird billionaire lackeys.”
The Constitution explicitly gives Congress, not the president, the power of the purse. The president does not have the power to override spending laws that Congress has passed and the president has signed into law. Article I, Section 9, Clause 7 of the Constitution says: “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law.” Fact sheets from the Senate and House Appropriations Committees detailing how presidents lack power to unilaterally override congressional spending laws and deny enacted funding to communities can be found here and here.
Examples of the impacts of this funding blockade:
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.
DISASTER RELIEF: Public assistance and hazard mitigation grants from the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) 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 communities are struggling after severe natural disasters, including Roswell flooding and Ruidoso fires and severe storms and wildfires in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and California.
INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS: All federally-funded transportation projects across the country—roads, bridges, public transit, and more—will be halted, including projects already under construction.
COMBATTING THE FENTANYL CRISIS: Funding for communities to address the substance use disorder crisis and combat the fentanyl crisis will be cut off.
988 SUICIDE AND CRISIS LIFELINE: Funding for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, as well as grants for mental health services, will be cut off.
MEDICAL 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.
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.
FIREFIGHTING: Grants to support firefighters across the country will be halted—this includes grants that help states and localities purchase essential firefighting equipment.
HEAD START: Funding for Head Start programs that provide comprehensive early childhood education for more than 800,000 kids and their families will be cut off. Teachers and staff would not get paid and programs may not be able to stay open.
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 our 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.
HIGHER EDUCATION AND JOB TRAINING: Millions of students relying on Pell grants, 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 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 communities in North Carolina, Texas, and Florida.
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.
NUTRITION ASSISTANCE: Millions of American families and children who rely on nutrition assistance programs like SNAP, WIC, and school lunch programs will be left hungry as funding is cut off and non-profits who provide additional assistance lose federal funding.
TRIBES: Funding to Tribes for basic government services like health care, public safety, law enforcement, Tribal schools, housing, and food assistance will be halted.
PREVENTING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: All Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) 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 AI and quantum computing will be halted and any new grant funding would be paused—undermining U.S. innovation and competitiveness with China and putting American 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 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 SERVICE MEMBERS: Support for a host of Department of Defense financial assistance and grant programs supporting service members and their families will be halted, including the Fisher House, Impact Aid, community noise mitigation, ROTC language training, STEM programs, and the USO.
WEAKENS 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.
AMERICANS OVERSEAS: Programs that track and combat the spread of infectious diseases, create business opportunities for American companies in emerging markets, combat terrorism, and counter the influence of China, Russia, and Iran—and efforts to ensure the safety and security of Americans implementing these programs—are all suspended and could be terminated.
An extensive list of potentially impacted federal programs can be found here.