Democrats are struggling to respond to the sheer volume of executive orders, personnel changes, and policy shifts taking place in the little more than a week since President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Democrats foreshadowed and warned about many of these actions during the campaign cycle.
Senate Democrats initially planned to hold a press conference on Tuesday morning about a resolution they introduced to condemn Trump for pardoning Jan. 6 defendants who assaulted Capitol Police officers, an action the president took over a week ago. Instead, they were forced to pivot and address a new order from the White House that came down late Monday night that halted all federal grants and loans beginning on Tuesday at 5 p.m. Eastern time.
“We were coming here today to talk about a very simple resolution — on a different kind of lawlessness by the president,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) said, speaking at a press conference alongside Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and other prominent Senate Democrats. “But we are here to respond to the OMB memo issued by the Trump administration last night.”
Top Democratic leaders are attempting to formulate their messaging on the latest surprise move to reassess federal spending. This sweeping decision could disrupt housing assistance, healthcare and education programs, disaster relief, and other programs that depend on federal dollars.
Senate Democrats taking aim at Trump’s OMB power play at beginning of a hearing supposed to be about Jan 6 pardons: “Last night, President Trump plunged the country into chaos without a shred of warning, the Trump administration announced a halt to virtually all federal funds.” pic.twitter.com/mII9Vf0O46
— Samantha-Jo Roth (@SamanthaJoRoth) January 28, 2025
Murray, the ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, sent a memo to Senate Democrats that included an extensive list of funding that could be halted, including the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline, infrastructure projects, veterans care, and more.
“Every one of our offices has been deluged with calls from people who are in panic. What is this going to mean? What if I have a hospital that has people on life support? What are we going to do,” Schumer said during the press conference.
During the first press briefing of the second Trump administration in the Brady Press Briefing Room, press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the halt on federal funding, saying the order was not a “blanket pause on federal assistance and grant programs from the Trump administration” and that people who are receiving assistance from the federal government will continue to do so.
“However, it is the responsibility of this president and this administration to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars. That is something that President Trump campaigned on. That’s why he has launched DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, who is working alongside OMB. And that’s why OMB sent out this memo last night, because the president signed an executive order directing OMB to do just this, and the reason for this is to ensure that every penny that is going out the door is not conflicting with the executive orders and actions that this president has taken.”
Leavitt continued, “So what does this pause mean? It means no more funding for illegal DEI programs. It means no more funding for the green new scam that has cost American taxpayers tens of billions of dollars. It means no more funding for transgenderism and wokeness across our federal bureaucracy and agencies. No more funding for Green New Deal social engineering policies. Again, people who are receiving individual assistance, you will continue to receive that, and President Trump is looking out for you by issuing this pause because he is being a good steward of your taxpayer dollars.”
In just days, Trump signed dozens of executive orders on immigration, health, medical research, climate change, and oil exploration, as well as eliminating directives defining gender and federal diversity programs. In addition, the president’s Cabinet picks have begun their confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill, leaving Democrats struggling to respond to the sheer number of changes.
Meanwhile, House Democrats are holding an “emergency virtual caucus meeting” on Wednesday to deal with the situation, per a notice that was sent to members. Earlier, a memo from the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee obtained by Puck News instructed Democrats to tell the stories of their constituents who are affected by the funding pause. Since House Democrats are in their districts this week, the memo encouraged them to hold press conferences with affected local groups and to share stories on social media.
The messaging model appears to be taking shape among congressional Democrats. Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) shared a story on X about a local domestic violence shelter that could close due to the latest directive.
“My office just got a phone call from a domestic violence shelter — the only one serving multiple counties — that says they may have to close their doors if President Trump doesn’t reverse course,” Warner wrote.
“Everyone up here has been talking about — we are getting phone calls and emails from our constituents, people back in our state, and the word that everyone uses is ‘chaos,’” Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) said.
Democrats appear to be crafting a new playbook in real time, zeroing in on pocketbook issues and adapting to a rapidly changing information landscape.
“It is just outrageous. Funds for things like disaster assistance, local law enforcement, rural hospitals, aid to the elderly, food for people in need — all are on the chopping block in this new administration. Why? They need tax cuts for the ultrawealthy, and these cuts they think will fund them,” Schumer said during the press conference.
Democrats argue that the sweeping federal funding freeze is unlawful under the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, and many are calling it a “constitutional crisis.”
“This is a profound constitutional issue. What happened last night is the most direct assault on the authority of Congress, I believe, in the history of the United States,” Sen. Angus King (I-ME) said. “If this stands, then Congress may as well adjourn, because what the implications of this is, the executive can pick and choose which congressional enactments they will execute.”
Senate Democrats are urging Republicans to postpone the vote in the Senate Budget Committee on Russ Vought, Trump’s White House budget chief, who is believed to be the one behind the pause in funding.
“This is why the Budget Dems are going to call upon the postponement, two-week postponement, of Mr. Vought’s confirmation in committee until we answer these questions and resolve this constitutional crisis,” said Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), the top Democrat on the budget panel.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), the chairman of the Budget Committee, said the confirmation vote in the panel for Vought will take place on Jan. 30 as scheduled, but he mentioned he will be seeking more information on the spending freeze.
Republican senators appear to be generally supportive of Trump’s funding freeze but admitted they had concerns about its duration and implications.
“Depending on how long this goes, people start hearing the real-life effects of it, we’ll hear about it,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) said.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins (R-ME) said the Trump administration needs to be more selective in halting funding.
“I think there is benefit in taking a look at federal spending to see where we can be more efficient and to identify duplicative programs. But this is far too sweeping and will have an adverse effect on the delivery of services and programs,” Collins said, speaking to reporters on Tuesday.
Murray indicated that Democrats are evaluating the road ahead and how exactly they plan to respond.
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“We’re like 12 hours into this, and we have multiple state attorneys general, as well as others, who are looking at what our next steps can be in the courts,” Murray said. “I would say to all my Republicans, we didn’t come here to go through a bunch of court orders about current law. We came here to fight for our constituents to make sure that they had the basic things they needed every single day,” she said.
“And we’re going to keep fighting,” she added.
Ramsey Touchberry contributed to this report.
