Donald Trump’s Funding Freeze Is a Holy Sh-t Moment for Democrats

President Donald Trump’s November rout may have dazed congressional Democrats, but his recent efforts to freeze federal funding appear to have shocked them back into action. House Democrats are scrambling to convene emergency meetings today. Senate Democrats are working to disrupt Cabinet confirmations. “We’re going to fight this in every way that we can,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who also called Trump’s funding freeze “cruelty” and “lawlessness.”

The swift response signals a vibe shift among Democrats, who had generally taken a conciliatory tone with the new administration. Since taking office last week, however, Trump has made it clear that he plans to not only dismantle former President Joe Biden’s legacy but generations of legal, constitutional and procedural precedent—starting with Congress’ well-established power to control how federal funds are spent.

On Monday night, the White House budget office issued a vaguely worded memo directing federal agencies to stop disbursing grants and other aid, pending an audit to guarantee they weren’t spent on “woke” causes. The move immediately unleashed chaos at state agencies, school districts and non-profit organizations, who sued the Trump administration to avert what they called a catastrophic disruption in critical programs and services. A federal judge blocked the order, but only through Monday afternoon. At that point, the court is scheduled to reconsider the issue.

Ahead of that deadline, Democrats in Washington and across the country are plotting a counterattack. Lawmakers are meeting today to craft a “three-pronged counteroffensive” that includes litigation, congressional action and a communications push, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote in a Tuesday letter to House Democrats.

In the Senate, Democrats on the budget committee are seeking to delay a confirmation vote for Russell Vought, Trump’s choice to direct the Office of Management and Budget. Nearly two dozen also cast protest votes against the confirmation of Sean Duffy, Trump’s relatively uncontroversial pick to lead the Department of Transportation. “The Senate must not be business as usual,” Senator Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts, said in a Tuesday post to X. “We do not consent to this lawless power grab.”

Meanwhile, blue-state governors—including JB Pritzker of Illinois and Kathy Hochul of New York—have vowed to fight the freeze in court. More than 20 states and the District of Columbia have already filed a lawsuit seeking to permanently prevent the Trump administration from cutting off federal funding. “What the president is trying to do is illegal,” Pritzker told reporters on Tuesday. “I know these are challenging times, and the Trump administration is trying to confuse the American people. That’s why it’s so important that we speak plainly.”

Legal and constitutional scholars widely agree that Trump’s funding freeze is unconstitutional, which means the issue will likely end up before the Supreme Court. Once there, it’s likely to face a chilly reception—even from conservative and Trump-appointed justices. The justices have shown little interest in expanding the president’s powers this way, the Georgetown University law professor and Supreme Court watcher Steve Vladeck wrote. Plus, he added, Monday’s order was just that “harmful, preposterous, and unlawful.”