New York Attorney General Letitia James dropped some major news on Tuesday, saying she’s gearing up to file a fresh lawsuit against the Trump administration. This one’s all about the recent freeze on federal grant programs that’s got a lot of folks concerned.
James has been in the ring with President Donald Trump for a minute now, especially when she took the lead on that lawsuit against his company for allegedly playing fast and loose with the numbers to mislead insurers and banks—right before his 2024 presidential run.
On Monday, she took to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, to weigh in on a report from The Washington Post that revealed the Trump administration hit pause on all federal grants. “This administration’s pause on federal funding is reckless and dangerous,” James wrote. “Programs in communities across the entire nation depend on this funding to support our families, and this action is only going to hurt them.”
On Monday, Trump’s White House budget office put the brakes on all federal grants and loans with a memo that could shake up trillions in government spending and put a stop to a bunch of public programs. The freeze doesn’t touch essentials like Social Security, Medicare, welfare, and direct aid for individuals, but it’s going live on Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET.
At a news conference on Tuesday, James announced the upcoming lawsuit against the Trump administration, joined by a crew of other Democratic attorneys general ready to take a stand.
“Not only does this Administration’s new policy put people at risk, but it is plainly unconstitutional,” James said.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Trump’s White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt weighed in on the administration’s call to freeze federal grants, stating: “This is not a blanket pause on federal assistance and grant programs from the Trump administration.”
“Individual assistance, that includes—I’m not naming everything that’s included but just to give you a few examples—Social Security benefits, Medicare benefits, food stamps, welfare benefits, assistance that is going directly to individuals will not be impacted by this pause,” Leavitt assured to the press.
