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.”

Indiana women’s basketball coach Teri Moren has learned to give her talented shooters space when they go through a prolonged slump. 

She stuck to that game plan in recent weeks while watching Yarden Garzon go 3 of 18 (16.7%) from 3-point range during IU’s three-game losing streak. It was only the second time in Garzon’s career she shot under 20% in three consecutive games, but Moren’s patience paid off. 

Garzon broke out of her slump on Monday night with a career-best performance in a 73-70 win over Washington.

The junior forward scored a career-high 35 points and went 8 of 10 from 3-point range — she had more 3-pointers than the entire Huskies team — to surpass 1,000-career points. She’s the 33rd player to reach the milestone, but that achievement took a back seat to helping IU get a crucial Quad 1 win to add to the team’s NCAA Tournament resume and end a challenging West Coast swing on a high note. 

“It feels amazing just to see the ball go through the net again and again,” Garzon said, with a smile. 

‘I feel like I didn’t change a thing’

Indiana practiced at some unfamiliar places on their road trip including the Seattle Storm’s training facility, but Garzon maintained the same practice routine she’s used throughout her career. 

The Ra’anana, Israel native came into Tuesday night’s game as a 42% career 3-point shooter. While she’s shooting under 40% this season (37.3%), she’s attempting two more triples per game (6.6) than she did last year and ranks among the top 50 Division 1 players with 2.47 made 3-pointers per game.  

It’s why she didn’t even spend much time thinking about her recent shooting woes.

“I feel like I’m really confident about my shot no matter what. I know that they will fall in,” Garzon said. “Last year, I shot it at a really high clip, in some games it doesn’t work or go my way, but I just have to keep showing up every day and doing my thing.”

Moren mentioned Garzon’s confidence in her post-game remarks as well. 

Her unspoken strategy to boost Garzon up in recent games was simply calling the same plays she normally would to get her the ball. It’s the same approach she’s relying on with Sydney Parrish, who has gone through similar struggles of late. 

“I think that can give them the best vote of confidence from me and our staff because we feel like they can come through for us,” Moren said. 

It helped Garzon get on track right out of the gate against Washington. The Hoosiers swung the ball around the perimeter on one of their first possessions to get her an open look. She hit nothing but net and remained locked in for the rest of the night.  

‘We rely on her’

Garzon’s 35 points are the most since Amanda Cahill scored 38 in a four-overtime win over Michigan State in 2018. Garzon’s career-high eight 3-pointers tied for the second most in a game in school history. 

Indiana isn’t expecting Garzon to score 30-plus points every night, but Moren has made it clear on multiple occasions this season that the Hoosiers face an uphill battle when Garzon struggles to score. 

It’s why Moren found Garzon’s 21-point performance against Iowa earlier this month so encouraging. 

After knocking down a 3-pointer right in front of the Hawkeyes’ bench early in the game, the Hoosiers relied on Garzon like they did with Mackenzie Holmes and Sara Scalia last year. 

Garzon had a series of clutch moments against Washington as well — she ended a late-game scoring drought by banking in a contested mid-range jumper that set up a 3-point play and made a 20-footer coming off a screen in the final minute. 

Indiana improved to 8-1 when Garzon scores 20 or more points and it was further proof that when she plays at a high level that the Hoosiers are capable of beating anyone.

“I’m trying to do my best,” Garzon said. “If it goes in, it’s just fun and I’m happy to help the team win. That’s the most important thing.”

Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.

The Washington Nationals took a walk on the wild side by signing a pitcher that seldom walks many. Shinnosuke Ogasawara, 27, also has a 54-72 career record, doesn’t throw very hard, and had a losing record in seven of nine pro seasons in Japan.

Nevertheless, General Manager Mike Rizzo told reporters that he believes the left-hander is “big league ready.”

Ogasawara got a two-year, $3.5 million contract last week as the first free agent in team history to be signed from Japan. He is expected to compete for a job in the rotation behind MacKenzie Gore, Jake Irvin and Michael Soroka. His chief competition is expected to come from nine-year MLB veteran Trevor Williams and second-year men DJ Herz, Mitchell Parker and Jackson Rutledge.

“This is the deepest starting pitching staff we’ve had in a long time in the upper minor leagues and major leagues,” Rizzo said. “We think we go nine or 10 deep now, which is something that we’ve been trying to get to for years.

“You never have enough starting pitching. That is the driver of success in the big leagues.”

Rizzo said the club had scouted Ogasawara for a few years and likes the soft tosser’s ability to throw strikes. The lefty walked only 1.4 batters per nine innings in 2024, when he had a 3.12 earned run average but only a 5-11 record for the Chunichi Dragons.

Ogasawara turned pro at age 18. He has relied on a fastball/changeup mix and occasionally throws a curveball that has been timed at under 70 mph. The fastball averages 89 to 91 mph, but he has shown the ability to place it where he wants in the strike zone.

Two decades ago, Jamie Moyer baffled batters with slow stuff. The lefty’s fastball averaged 82 mph when he had a 21-7 record at age 40 for the 2003 Seattle Mariners. He also threw a 77 mph cutter and 73 mph changeup, both with movement. He pitched until age 49.

Ogasawara’s best season was 2022, when he went 10-8 with a 2.72 ERA, 140 strikeouts and only 40 walks. Rizzo believes the 5-foot-11, 180-pound pitcher can do better.

“Part of the attractiveness to him is that he’s not a finished product,” Rizzo said. “There’s still some development that he could learn from and become a better pitcher than he even is now.”

Japanese Pitchers In MLB

There are 11 players from Japan returning in 2025 to MLB rosters. Nine of them are pitchers, including two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He did not pitch in 2024 as he recovered from Tommy John Surgery.

The others: Yu Darvish and Yuki Matsui, San Diego Padres; Shintaro Fujinami, Seattle Mariners; Shota Imanaga, Chicago Cubs; Yusei Kikuchi, Los Angeles Angels, Kenta Maeda, Detroit Tigers; Kodai Senga, New York Mets; Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers.

The Dodgers recently signed prized prospect Roki Sasaki to a $6.5 million contract and the Baltimore Orioles signed Tomoyuki Sugano in December to a one-year, $13 million deal.

Ichiro The Exception

Last week, former outfielder Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Most of the 70 other Japanese players in MLB history have been pitchers, starting with Masanori Murakami in 1964.

The right-hander pitched in 54 games for the San Francisco Giants before returning to Japan after the 1965 season at age 22. He had a 5-1 record, 3.43 ERA and 9 saves. Murakami went on to pitch 566 games in Japan until 1982, going 103-82 overall.

It would be 30 years before MLB got another Japanese player. Hideo Nomo joined the Dodgers in 1995 and was the NL Rookie of the Year with a 13-6 record. Overall in America, he worked in 324 games for seven teams through 2008, twice pitching no-hitters.

In 2000, Kazuhiro Sasaki won the AL Rookie of the Year Award at age 32 with the Seattle Mariners after earning 37 saves. He totaled 129 saves over four MLB seasons.

Now, Roki Sasaki, no relation, is an early favorite to be the NL’s top rookie in 2025.

Tomo Ohka To Washington

The only Japanese pitcher to previously play for the Nationals was Tomo Ohka in 2005. He went to Washington when the Montreal Expos moved there that year.

Ohka pitched parts of four seasons for the Yokohama Bay Stars before the Boston Red Sox purchased his contract. He had a spectacular debut in Boston’s farm system in 1999, going 15-0 with a 2.32 ERA in 24 games.

In 33 games over parts of three seasons for Boston, Ohka was barely okay. He had only a 6-13 record and was dealt to Montreal at the trading deadline in 2001. His best season was 2002: a 13-8 record and 3.18 ERA.

In one year with Washington, he went 4-3, then pitched for Milwaukee, Toronto and Cleveland before finishing his career back in Japan.

The Nationals are hopeful that throwing strikes with a limited arsenal will lead to more success for Shinnosuke Ogasawara.