Amid ongoing legal battles and conflicting directives, federal agencies in Washington are facing challenges in maintaining funding for various programs. Despite recent court rulings temporarily halting the White House's attempts to freeze federal assistance, agencies like FEMA, EPA, and USAID are still struggling to disburse allocated funds.
FEMA, for instance, has reclaimed $80 million designated for assisting New York City in housing migrants. The EPA has also put a hold on over 30 grant programs, impacting initiatives such as school purchases of electric buses. Additionally, USAID contractors report significant delays in receiving payments, with hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts remaining unpaid.
Officials from the Trump administration defend these funding suspensions as legal and in line with President Trump's executive orders, citing his authority over federal spending. However, several lawsuits have been filed accusing the administration of overstepping Congress' control of government spending and disregarding court orders to resume funding following the White House's freeze.
Insights from interviews with numerous administration officials, government contractors, and activists, along with court documents from lawsuits alleging improper handling of Congress-approved funds, underscore the prevailing chaos in federal spending. Despite judicial directives to continue fund disbursement, the Department of Government Efficiency, under Trump's administration, is swiftly cutting spending, causing disruption for U.S. contractors and leading to furloughs and layoffs at organizations reliant on government funding.
