Attorney General Kathy Jennings today joined a coalition of 23 attorneys general in moving to enforce a temporary restraining order (TRO) against President Trump, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and federal agencies attempting to pause nearly $3 trillion in federal funds for critical programs and services.

“These funds are not monopoly money, and this is not a game,” said AG Jennings. “Each and every one of these dollars represent promises that the United States made to Americans. Real people are suffering, and will continue to suffer incredible damages from the disruption of these vital funds. Rather than arbitrary numbers on a bottom line, it is public safety, healthcare, preschool, health research, housing and infrastructure that is on the chopping block. This is reckless, callous, and an incredible insult to the American people, including the millions who voted for President Trump. ”

Citing evidence of ongoing disruptions impacting disbursements to Delaware and other states, and federal funds that remain blocked under the IRA and IIJA despite a Court order, the coalition seeks to enforce the TRO to require the Trump Administration to disburse these funds.

The states’ filing further highlights the harm the Delaware and other states face if funds under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Infrastructure, Investment, and Jobs Act (IIJA, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law) are not allocated as required by statute.

As detailed in the preliminary injunction motion, without access to federal financial assistance, many states could face immediate cash shortfalls, making it difficult to administer basic programs like funding for healthcare and food for children and to address their most pressing needs.

Due to ongoing disruptions impacting disbursements to states despite the court’s TRO, efforts that bolster clean energy investments, transportation, infrastructure, and ensure critical health care, among others, have been put at risk.

By way of example, on Tuesday, February 4 – days after OMB purportedly rescinded the freeze and a federal court imposed a TRO – the Delaware Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Control (DNREC) received an e-mail from the U.S. Department of Energy, one of its federal grantors, requesting receipt of its earlier directive to cease federal funding, creating confusion and uncertainty regarding our ability to draw on obligated federal funds. Other agencies have encountered even more serious disruptions: as of February 5, the Delaware Department of Health & Social Services (DHSS) still could not access grant funds to protect children under the age of six from lead paint poisoning.

Amid evidence that the Trump Administration has continued to block or delay these specific funding categories, the attorneys general filed a motion to enforce to ensure that these critical funds are swiftly disbursed so that states can put them to use to protect for the health, safety, and well-being of their residents.

Joining Attorney General Jennings are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

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