What does a federal funding freeze mean for Pierce County, many programs that get aid?
The Trump administration announced it would freeze federal grants, loans and other funding beginning Tuesday, raising questions about how the move would affect Pierce County governments, schools and other local agencies that routinely receive millions of federal dollars to bankroll key programs.
A memo from the White House Office of Management and Budget on Monday said that federal agencies must “temporarily pause” all activities related to paying federal financial assistance, pending a review of funded programs to ensure that spending aligns with the goals of President Donald Trump’s administration.
“This temporary pause will provide the Administration time to review agency programs and determine the best uses of the funding for those programs consistent with the law and the President’s priorities,” the memo said, specifically targeting activities such as diversity, equity and inclusion, and climate-change policy.
A federal judge in the District of Columbia temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s plan shortly before it was set to go into effect Tuesday afternoon after nonprofit groups filed a lawsuit, multiple media outlets reported. A hearing in the case was scheduled for Monday.
Amid confusion about its potential widespread impact, the Office of Management and Budget sought to clarify Tuesday that the federal spending freeze was meant only to weed out spending activities previously targeted by Trump’s executive orders within the past week or so, according to The Washington Post.
Federal agencies were given until Feb. 10 to submit details on any programs, projects or activities subject to the pause. Until then, agencies were required to stop issuing new funding awards or disbursing federal funds under all open awards, according to the memo, which was reported by multiple media outlets.
In Pierce County, officials were uncertain about what the potential stoppage of federal dollars could mean for the many programs that rely upon them.
Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards told The News Tribune that the city was working to identify what effects there could be but noted that it was challenging to do so given the situation’s fluidity.
“We are very concerned about potential impacts for the City and our community,” Woodards said in a statement. “We will be working diligently to understand and respond to the federal actions. We will also be working with our state and federal partners on this and other executive actions.”
Prior to the funding freeze’s temporary stoppage in court, two agencies addressed their plans Tuesday with The News Tribune.
The Tacoma Housing Authority, which says it assists nearly 11,000 Tacomans with housing through federal funding, said it planned to use reserve dollars and conduct business as usual while it awaited further information from the federal government.
THA spokesperson Erik Owomoyela told The News Tribune that the agency would remain “calm and steady” in the meantime.
“It’s not clear how this pause will impact THA’s programs in the long term,” Owomoyela said. “In the short term, THA has reserves operations for at least three months.”
In a statement, Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department spokesperson Kenny Via said TPCHD didn’t anticipate that a freeze would immediately impact its services since it receives most of its funding from Pierce County, Tacoma and the state Department of Health.
“We are reviewing how we may need to adjust our spending if this freeze lasts for an extended period,” Via said. “That includes identifying specific funding sources that may be affected long-term and engaging with local and state partners about future funding.”
Messages left for other agencies which rely on federal funding, such as Pierce County and Tacoma Public Schools, were not immediately returned Tuesday.
Those groups and others were among the many in Pierce County expected to receive tens of millions of dollars in federal grants during the current fiscal year, according to the official U.S. government website, USASpending.gov, which tracks such spending.
The money goes toward programs that support a wide array of services, including housing vouchers, opioid- and substance-abuse treatment, student mental health services and academic enrichment, homeless outreach, domestic-violence protection, senior meals, energy efficiency for low-income households, urban search and rescue, and more, USASpending.gov data shows.
U.S. Senator Patty Murray, D-Washington, raised concerns about the Trump administration action in a letter Monday night to Matthew Vaeth, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget.
“The scope of what you are ordering is breathtaking, unprecedented, and will have devastating consequences across the country,” Murray wrote.
A document obtained by The News Tribune, which Murray shared with other Senate Democrats, noted Democrats’ fears about the potential implications of the funding freeze.
They worried that a pause could hurt a vast number of federally funded programs, including those related to public safety, child care, Head Start, K-12 schools, veterans care and infrastructure projects, according to the document.
“If implemented broadly, as written, this action by the Trump administration could block hundreds of billions of dollars in approved funding—sowing chaos nationwide, hurting American families and businesses, killing jobs, and undermining our national security and emergency preparedness,” the document said.
Democratic attorneys general also announced a lawsuit Tuesday in an effort to stop the freeze, the Associated Press reported.
This story was originally published January 28, 2025 at 3:48 PM.
