The California AG announced Wisconsin is one of 23 states suing to block implementation of a directive by the Trump administration to freeze certain federal spending as it reviews whether the outlays are in line with the president’s agenda.

The attorneys general filed suit yesterday seeking a temporary restraining order to block the memo from taking effect, warning of immediate harm to their states. Meanwhile, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., late yesterday temporarily blocked the freeze on existing programs until Monday afternoon. 

Earlier yesterday, Dem Gov. Tony Evers sent a letter to President Donald Trump seeking a delay in the directive, warning it could have “disastrous consequences” for Wisconsin.

The order, released late Monday and slated to take effect yesterday, seeks a freeze on all federal grants and loans with exceptions for Social Security, Medicare and “payments to individuals.” The order has sent government and other officials scrambling as they try to measure the impact.

Evers wrote in his letter that the spending has already been approved in federal law and while “we may disagree on many issues, we should be able to agree that following the law is critically important.”

“With very few details and specifics available, virtually no time for ample review and consideration, and no direct communication to date, states are left to plan for the worst, and Wisconsinites and millions of Americans who are rightfully alarmed and concerned by this unprecedented decision are left scrambling,” Evers wrote.

During a White House media briefing, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said the move wasn’t a blanket pause on federal assistance and individuals on programs such as Social Security, Medicare and food stamps, for example, wouldn’t be impacted.

“This administration, if you are receiving individual assistance from the federal government, you will still continue to receive that,” Leavitt said. “However, it is the responsibility of this president and this administration to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars.”

Shortly after the briefing, Leavitt posted on X that the administration was aware of the Medicaid website portal outage. She added no payments had been impacted and the administration expected “the portal will be back online shortly.”

A state official said in addition to the Medicaid website, Wisconsin officials were having trouble accessing portals for other programs, including Head Start.

Legislative Fiscal Bureau Direct Bob Lang told WisPolitics the agency wouldn’t be able to do an accounting of the potential impact on Wisconsin until after the Trump administration provides more details. The administration sought yesterday to clarify the order was a pause on the spending until agencies submit information to the Office of Management and Budget on the programs.

State government receives $14.1 billion annually in federal money, with 61% of that going to the Department of Health Services, which administers the Medicaid program.

The order could complicate the guv’s work putting the final touches on his proposed budget for the 2025-27 biennium.

Federal agencies were directed to respond to the administration’s request by Feb. 10, days before Evers is set to release his budget Feb. 18.

The Joint Finance Committee Co-chairs Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, and Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, said in a statement, “The Federal government regularly changes programs and policies; we will continue to monitor any actions that may impact the Wisconsin budget.”

U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Janesville, also said he was reviewing the order and “looking to get additional clarity to ensure important local services are not impacted.”

Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, said she was “already hearing from my constituents who are worried about funding being cut off for cops and firefighters, childcare, combatting the fentanyl crisis, food for kids, and so much more.”

“I want to be clear, Democrats and Republicans passed laws providing this funding for our kids, families, and communities, and ripping it away is an unconstitutional power grab. I will fight it at every step,” she said.