SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WXYZ) — A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's federal funding freeze that was set to take effect at 5 p.m. EDT Tuesday.
With the legal battle ahead and a freeze that is looming, local residents and programs are expressing concern over the potential pause in funds.
“I've always said that (veterans) should be taken care of, and the ball has been dropped. And now, it’s not being dropped, it’s being kicked," U.S. Army veteran Lawrence Gary said.
Related video: Impact of federal funding freeze on metro Detroiters
Gary served his country proudly for years. He now works two jobs and to help ease his mind, he also focuses on his art.
He seeks out federally funded art programs designated for veterans. However, he says on Tuesday, he was much more worried about the critical federally funded services that provide health care and shelter to his former colleagues and friends.
“Coming from a veteran’s perspective, they’re depending on these programs, they’re depending on some of those grans and loans. I don’t mean they want this — I mean they are depending on it," he said. “Any little thing can trigger a veteran whose already got those things on her, his mind, so they don’t need anything else added to their stress.”
Those services and many more would have been frozen Tuesday for the new administration to review its spending, however a federal judge intervened, delaying the move until Monday.
Related video: White House says federal spending freeze is to align agencies with Trump's priorities
Education research would have been affected as well, like that conducted at the University of Michigan and Michigan State University.
In a joint email was sent out to MSU faculty and academic staff Friday afternoon from President Guskiewicz, Interim Provost Thomas Jeitschko and Vice President for Research and Innovation Doug Gage, the message was that students and staff should continue their research projects, but "caution should be exercised in making new commitments or starting new experiments as the situation is evolving."
Meanwhile, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel joined 22 other states in suing to stop the implementation of withholding the trillions of dollars in funding saying in a statement in part:
“While we are continuing to seek clarity on the totality of what is impacted, we know that if a full freeze goes into effect, Michigan families will suffer, children will go hungry, communities will lose safety protections, and schools will struggle."
State Budget Director Jen Flood also expressed concern in a statement Tuesday, saying:
"Federal funding is critical to protecting the health and safety of all Michiganders—ensuring drinking water is clean and food is safe, keeping people in their homes and the power on, and funding homeland security and emergency management. We are currently working across state government to examine how recent federal action to withhold funds appropriated by Congress will impact vital programs like food assistance, Medicaid and Head Start. Nearly $34 billion of Michigan’s budget is built on federal dollars – which equates to 42% of our total FY25."
The administrative stay pauses the freeze until Monday.
