States that rely heavily on federal funds are trying to unravel what the Trump administration’s anticipated aid freeze could mean for their budgets and services.
But Republican senators from those states quickly lined up behind the president as the White House tried to walk back the scope of the original memo. A federal judge temporarily blocked the freeze from taking effect Tuesday afternoon.
“It’s a temporary review. It’s not gonna last long. And it hasn’t even gone into effect,” said Sen. Josh Hawley, who represents Missouri, a state that relies on the federal government for almost half of its operating budget, hours before the freeze was set to take effect on Tuesday afternoon. “People are making this out to be more than it is.”