Here’s Who Would Suffer From Trump Funding Freeze In NJ, Advocates Say

UPDATE: The White House has rescinded the federal freeze order, multiple reports said Wednesday afternoon. Read our update to this article here.

NEW JERSEY — Homeless veterans, small business owners, domestic violence victims and millions of commuters will be among the New Jersey residents who suffer if the Trump Administration successfully freezes up to $3 trillion in federal funding, advocates say.

After his inauguration, President Donald Trump released a flurry of executive orders, including several directives on immigration. Now, his administration is setting its sights on tackling another campaign pledge: trimming “woke” ideology from the federal budget.

The White House has announced plans to put a blanket pause on federal grants and loans, including those that have already been approved. Officials said the freeze is needed to ensure that funding complies with Trump’s recent executive orders, including declarations involving transgender rights, environmental justice, and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

“The use of federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve,” Matthew Vaeth, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, wrote in this week’s memo.

Officials said that federal aid to individuals – such as Social Security, Medicare and food stamps – will not be affected under the temporary freeze. However, Republicans have been proposing separate cuts to social services to help pay for Trump’s domestic agenda, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Read More: Are Trump’s Tax Cuts A Win Or Loss For New Jersey?

A deadline for the funding freeze was set to take place on Tuesday evening. The order has sparked multiple legal challenges, including a lawsuit from a coalition of state attorneys general.

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the freeze. A hearing is scheduled for Feb. 3.

IMPACT TO NEW JERSEY

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey said that his office has been getting nonstop calls about the funding freeze.

According to Booker, some of the Garden State residents who will be impacted include:

• 𝗩𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀 – Many programs in our state that provide meals and support to our homeless veterans are immediately in danger of running out of funding. Families of veterans may see a pause in rental assistance and other support.
• 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 – 578,000 New Jerseyans currently receive care from community health centers. As we deal with the spread of the flu, RSV, norovirus, and other infectious diseases, our health centers may not make payroll in just a few weeks.
• 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 – Federal grants pay for trainings and equipment that ensure firefighters can do their job to protect lives and property across New Jersey.
• 𝗗𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗩𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗲𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 - Federal funding for hotlines, shelters, and legal counsel for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault is frozen. If this continues, there will be reduced resources for those looking to leave abusive situations.
• 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 – A significant portion of the budget for our state universities are funded with federal dollars. Outside of providing an education, these universities oversee invaluable research, employ thousands, and are pillars of our state.

On Tuesday afternoon, Booker and New Jersey’s other U.S. senator, Andy Kim, joined several Garden State social service groups to outline the potential impacts of a federal funding freeze.

It’s not a pretty picture, they said. Here are some of the programs that would suffer:

Head Start – Click here for a state-by-state table of FY 2024 funding for Head Start, which funds comprehensive early childhood education, or here for state-by-state fact sheets that use the same funding data.

VAWA Grants – Click here for state level totals of FY 2024 grant funding from the Office of Violence Against Women.

Community Health Center – Click here for a 2023 table of state-by-state Section 330 grant funding for community health centers, which provide affordable care for millions of Americans.

IDEA and Other Department of Education Grant Programs – Click here for a state-by-state table of IDEA Grants (which help children with disabilities) from FY 2023, and data on other grant programs through the Department of Education that could be impacted by the freeze.

COPS Grants – The Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program is a Department of Justice grant program for law enforcement. More info here, and many of the links include state-by-state fact sheets. This link here includes FY 2024 grant amounts for the COPS Hiring Program (CHP).

State Opioid Response Grants – Click here for total state awards from FY 2024 for the State Opioid Response Grants program, which funds addiction prevention, treatment, and recovery services.

SBA Loans to Small Business – Click here for a dashboard of approved SBA loans by state for recent fiscal years including FY 2024. State totals for both the 7(a) program and 504 program are available.

“We want Donald Trump to know exactly what these decisions and loss of funding could mean for New Jersey: it places independent living centers on the brink, risks vital Meals on Wheels for our seniors, and threatens crucial Head Start services for our families,” Kim said.

“At a moment of such distrust between people and their government, this isn’t simply a disregard for our Constitution, this is a cruel attack hurting families all across this nation,” the senator added.

• See Related: Trump Funding Freeze Sends NJ Refugee Aid Groups Reeling

U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) said the freeze also threatens several transportation projects, such as NJ Transit repairs and construction on the long-awaited Gateway Tunnel between New Jersey and New York City. Read More: Who Will Pay For New Train Tunnel In NJ, NY? Feds Up Their Ante

“This will harm families, raise costs, and severely disrupt the day-to-day lives of New Jerseyans,” the congresswoman said. “It means stalled infrastructure projects that increase commute times, fewer mental health resources for our kids and veterans in crisis, missed paychecks for union workers, and seniors going hungry without food assistance from Meals on Wheels.”

“These are the people’s tax dollars – not the president’s,” Sherrill said.

Other New Jersey community members decrying the funding freeze include:

Robert Baran and Denise Rodriguez, Co-Directors, New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault – “The new executive order pausing the release of federal grant funding impacts sexual violence services, putting individuals who have been assaulted and their loved ones at greater risk. With reduced funding, service providers face the challenge of maintaining critical support systems, including the availability of advocates to answer hotlines, provide accompaniments to forensic exams, navigate the court system, and offer counseling and other critical services. Often, there is no duplication of services supporting survivors, and our data show that there are already existing waitlists for them. Interruptions in funding will only exacerbate an already strained system and delay access to care. This increase in wait times will not only heighten the immediate danger of further harm but also prolong the impact on survivors' healing.”

Eddie Donnelly, President, New Jersey State Firefighters’ Mutual Benevolent Association (FMBA) – “These dollars have offset costs for manpower, training, and equipment. All of which have provided a safer workplace for our members while we protect the residents and visitors of our great State. We urge the President to release these funds Congress has appropriated for AFG and SAFER grants.”

Bruce Buckley, Chief Executive Officer, Soldier On – “A pause in federal funding of any length will impact our ability to serve our homeless veteran population. This is not just the case for our program but for similar programs throughout the nation. The effects of this pause will be immediate and grave. For example, they will imperil the support families enrolled in the VA’s Support Services for Veterans Families (SSVF) programs receive, including rental assistance. And, as rents come due in a matter of days, this raises the specter of evictions and increased veteran homelessness. Additionally, a pause in the federal funding we receive will immediately affect our ability to purchase and prepare food for our 100+ housed veterans, prevent us from taking in, and providing services, for additional homeless veterans in New Jersey, halts our ability to pay leases on vehicles used for support services, and jeopardizes the jobs of nearly 200 employees dedicated to serving our nation’s veterans, many of whom are veterans or were once unhoused veterans themselves. While we will continue to provide those who rely on us with the dignity and care they deserve, OMB’s memorandum seriously endangers the wellbeing of an already vulnerable population.”

Jonathan Holloway, President, Rutgers University – “The recent pause in funds has produced considerable concern across the Rutgers University community, which prides itself on the federally supported research and service it carries out to promote the common good and serve the national interest. The federal government is a critical partner to Rutgers, with federal funding for student aid, research, and public service initiatives accounting for about $1 billion of the university's $5.6 billion budget.”

Adrienne Gantz and Nicole Morella, Co-Executive Directors, New Jersey Coalition to End Domestic Violence – “A freeze to the release of federal funds will impact all victims and survivors of domestic violence. The vast majority of our 33 domestic violence providers in NJ rely on federal funding to ensure that every county has a domestic violence shelter, legal advocacy, counseling and other critical services that survivors need. A freeze in funding will increase barriers for survivors seeking safety, and will cause many to stay in abusive situations, increasing the danger and harm they will experience. The federal government must act accordingly, and not hastily, to ensure victims and survivors have the services they need in their community when they need them.”

Selina Haq, Ph.D., President/Chief Executive Officer, New Jersey Primary Care Association – “Just a few days into their term, the Trump-Vance Administration has imposed an unprecedented freeze on federally funded programs, including programs that benefit more than 578,000 New Jerseyans, who rely on community health centers for vital, cost-efficient and life-saving care. For a majority of our state’s community health centers, this freeze in federal funding will cause them to shutter, leaving hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans without access to healthcare. These freezes come as emerging public health risks––like bird flu and other infectious diseases––continue to pose dangers to our communities. Our health centers are already struggling financially, and many are facing the likelihood of not making payroll in the next few weeks, dealing a death blow to centers that are already having difficulty in retaining an adequate workforce for the services they provide.”

Ameer Washington, Chief Executive Officer, Boys & Girls Club Newark – “The Boys & Girls Club of Newark has six funding sources that may be impacted by the federal spending freeze. These funds represent more than 10% of our annual budget of $5M and could affect funding for 35-50 team members in direct service with youth. The kinds of programs that could be affected are meal service at our after-school programs, food distribution to families, mentorship for at-risk youth, and critical funding related to safety at our facility. We believe these services are of vital importance to the work we do in our community. Our hope is to see funding restored to ensure our constituents can receive these services that they rely on for their well-being.”

Carole Tonks, Executive Director, Alliance Center for Independence - Edison, NJ –“The freeze in federal funding, which has been imposed, will undoubtedly have a devastating impact on Centers for Independent Living throughout the country. These centers provide crucial support and assistance to individuals with disabilities, allowing them to live independently and fully participate in their communities. With this ban in place, these centers may be forced to put vital services on hold, leaving many individuals without the necessary resources and support they rely on. Furthermore, the ban may also result in significant financial strain for these centers, potentially leading to payrolls being put on hold and difficulty paying rent. This could ultimately jeopardize the ability of these centers to continue operating and providing essential services to those in need. The impact of this ban will not only be felt by the centers themselves, but also by the individuals they serve, creating a ripple effect throughout the disability community. It is essential that this ban be reconsidered and alternative solutions be explored to ensure that Centers for Independent Living can continue their important work without interruption.”

Dena Mottola, Executive Director, New Jersey Citizen Action – “This order to halt federal funding will have devastating consequences for millions of New Jerseyans, including many that New Jersey Citizen Action directly serves. Federal grants enable many organizations like ours to help New Jerseyans to save themselves from foreclosures, afford first-time homebuyer loans, protect themselves from housing discrimination, file their taxes for free, navigate essential social safety-net programs, and achieve financial stability. These key investments have allowed New Jersey to build stronger communities and healthier, thriving families. The order would also affect the entire New Jersey nonprofit sector dedicated to serving our state's most vulnerable populations. These include organizations that provide services for seniors, people with disabilities, children, women, victims of domestic violence, and organizations in the field of mental health. It's unconscionable that the Trump administration should halt these investments—which have already been approved by Congress—for American taxpayers while considering further tax cuts for billionaires and corporations.”

Robyn D'Oria MA, RNC, APN, Chief Executive Officer, Central Jersey Family Health Consortium – “The work that we do along with other nonprofit public health agencies is vital to the health of our communities. We know that maternal child health is critical to the health of our nation and limiting or cutting funding that states, agencies and programs like ours receive will have negative long-term consequences on the women, children and families that we serve.”

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