The Trump administration’s move to freeze huge swaths of federal spending drew backlash Tuesday from Democratic officials in Washington and the state’s congressional delegation.

State lawmakers said it further complicates this year’s already difficult budgeting process, while Gov. Bob Ferguson predicted that the courts would determine President Donald Trump is overstepping his executive powers. Washington U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, derided Trump’s action as “brazen and illegal.”

Later in the day, a federal judge in the District of Columbia agreed to temporarily block the freeze at least until Feb. 3. This came in response to a lawsuit by the National Council of Nonprofits, the American Public Health Association, and other groups. 

Meanwhile, Washington Attorney General Nick Brown announced that the state joined 21 other states in a separate suit against the Trump administration over the attempted funding pause. 

Much about the scope and consequences of the directive remained unclear Tuesday afternoon. But critics said it could stymie funding in a range of areas, from child care services to road construction to opioid addiction treatment programs.

“This chaos is already hurting people, causing confusion, and causing devastating delays. I mean where do we start here? There are a lot of urgent questions but precious few answers — and the answers keep changing,” Murray said earlier on Tuesday.

It’s commonly understood that Congress, not the president, holds “the power of the purse.” And Murray’s office emphasized that the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, “makes plain that presidents cannot temporarily or permanently withhold enacted funding, and it established procedures the president can and must follow to propose delaying or rescinding funding.”

The episode began when a memo from the White House Office of Management and Budget emerged Monday calling for a “temporary pause” on federal agency grants, loans and other financial assistance. The memo said it was not intended to apply to “assistance provided directly to individuals,” Social Security, or Medicare, which provides health care coverage for older Americans.

“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.

“The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars,” the memo added.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the pause would not apply to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, or welfare benefits. An additional memo from the White House said Medicaid payments would not be disrupted, though there were reports Tuesday that Medicaid portals were down in states across the country.

The Washington State Health Care Authority did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the status of the state’s Medicaid portal. Medicaid is the government health insurance program for people with low incomes.

‘We’re sorting it all out’

State Sen. June Robinson, D-Everett, who chairs the state Senate’s Ways and Means Committee, said the attempted funding pause added “another layer of uncertainty in the budgeting process, but one that we have virtually no control over.”

“It is very alarming, and we have to wait and see what happens,” she added. “If federal funding goes away, we do not have the ability to backfill those dollars.”

Robinson flagged public schools, higher education, housing and domestic violence services as some of the areas where the state depends on federal funding. Washington state lawmakers entered this year’s session facing a budget deficit estimated to be around $12 billion over four years.

Ferguson, in an emailed statement, acknowledged that “presidents have significant powers and elections have consequences.” But he added “President Trump’s refusal or inability to advance his priorities in a lawful and constitutional manner is creating needless and cruel chaos.”

A spokesperson for the governor’s office did not respond to questions about whether any state agencies experienced turmoil on Tuesday because of the Trump administration’s maneuver.

The state’s Department of Commerce and the Department of Social and Health Services both said it was too early to know how the action by the Trump administration might affect operations.

“We’re sorting it all out,” said Penny Thomas, a Department of Commerce spokesperson.

Joel Ryan, executive director of the association in Washington that advocates for the Head Start and Early Childhood Education and Assistance programs, said the Trump administration memo “led to complete chaos as several Head Start programs prepared to close their doors” and worried about making payroll.

The Office of Management and Budget later said Head Start programs, which provide early learning services and other supports to kids up to 5, were not covered by the pause, according to Ryan.

“Even after that clarification, the payment portal remained down for several hours making federal funding inaccessible,” he said. “We also continue to be concerned about other grant programs that impact young children like the child care food program which Head Start programs rely upon to serve healthy meals and snacks to low-income children.”