Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, released this statement following an order from a U.S. District Judge temporarily blocking the Trump Administration’s order to freeze all federal grants and loans until February 3rd.
“I would like to express my gratitude to the National Council of Nonprofits, the American Public Health Association, the Main Street Alliance, and SAGE for filing the lawsuit to block the Trump Administration’s illegal order to freeze federal financial assistance. I also applaud U.S. District Judge Loren Alikhan for following the law and granting this pause. The Trump Administration’s poorly drafted and ambiguous order is a scheme straight out of the Project 2025 playbook that if not indefinitely blocked, threatens to permanently shut off trillions of dollars of funding, including critical funding for housing, community development, homelessness, and mortgage lending programs in the midst of a national housing crisis, and potentially leave small businesses out to dry.
“While more than 771,000 people are experiencing homelessness in the United States and nearly half of all families are spending over 30% of their income on rent, Trump’s latest actions seeking to freeze federal funds that help end homelessness and increase the supply of affordable housing will exacerbate our nation’s housing crisis. This order would also jeopardize funding for public housing, assistance for the elderly and people with disabilities, and civil rights enforcement. That’s not all. Trump’s illegal freeze threatens to throw our nation’s mortgage market into chaos. Without access to federal lending programs or national flood insurance coverage, which may be subject to OMB’s freeze, thousands of families with plans to close on their home purchases may no longer be able to. Moreover, the broader housing markets would also be thrown into disarray as the credit risk on trillions of dollars of mortgage securities would increase.
“Given the confusing and conflicting messages being conveyed by the Trump Administration about this order, this reckless freeze could hinder Community Development Financial Institutions, including community banks and credit unions, from getting the support they need to provide financial access to underserved communities and small businesses. Considering the sweeping nature of the order, it could impact critical emergency tools that promote financial stability.
“This cruel, sloppy, destructive, and illegal action at the hands of the Trump Administration is nothing more than an attempt to make room for more corporate tax cuts and enrich Trump’s billionaire friends, all while leaving hardworking, working-class families to bear the cost. Despite this temporary pause, we know that the Trump Administration is working around the clock to find loopholes to this ruling so they can continue to rob American taxpayers. In fact, in his effort to weaken the federal government’s ability to help our nation’s families, President Trump is copying Co-President Musk’s playbook when he fired workers at X — deceive hard-working employees into quitting their jobs by offering phony “buyouts,” only to later deny those employees what’s due, forcing them to fight for their pay in court. Based on Trump’s history of stiffing contractors and with Musk in his ear, federal employees should know that they will likely never be paid. I and Democrats in Congress will not sit idly by. We will hold the Administration accountable and use every tool available to protect the Constitution, Congress’ power of the purse, and put the American people first.”
