By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, recently led a virtual press conference to highlight the serious consequences of President Trump’s ongoing federal funding freeze, which she and other state leaders have called illegal.
“The threat of a funding freeze is forcing states to make impossible choices,” Murray said. “It’s costing jobs and putting critical projects—everything from infrastructure improvements to culvert removal—at risk.”
Joining Murray in the press call were King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay, Washington State Department of Ecology Director Casey Sixkiller, and Joel Ryan, Executive Director of the Washington State Association of Head Start. Each emphasized how Trump’s decision to withhold federal funds is creating financial uncertainty for communities across Washington state.
“This morning, I joined Senator Patty Murray to sound the alarm on the devastating impacts a federal funding freeze would have on local governments like King County,” said Zahilay. “These actions by the Trump administration would make a dire budget situation even worse, threatening resources for public health, law enforcement, transit investments, and much more. Thank you, Senator Murray, for your leadership and partnership in fighting for the resources our communities need.”
Murray and Zahilay both emphasized that King County is already facing a $150 million budget shortfall, and a federal funding freeze would only worsen an already dire situation. Public safety, public health, and human services programs could all face cuts if federal dollars are blocked.
Murray described the funding freeze as “chaotic, reckless, and unprecedented.” She noted that her office has been flooded with calls from community groups and organizations whose projects depend on federal dollars.
“I’m concerned that this Trump administration doesn’t care about the law,” Murray said. “We’re seeing that across the board, which means this may take a while.”
Murray also warned that Washington state jobs are at risk since much of the federal funding goes toward contractors who work on major state infrastructure and public service projects.
“Contractors aren’t going to say, ‘Eh, pay me when you figure this out,’” Murray said. “Stopping work on essential projects doesn’t just affect budgets—it affects people who are going to work every day and are now being told they won’t have a job anymore.”
The Washington State Office of Financial Management (OFM) has not yet estimated how much federal funding the state would receive in fiscal year 2026 (which begins July 1, 2025). However, in fiscal year 2024, Washington received $27 billion in federal funds—accounting for 32% of the state’s total budget. These figures do not include federal money allocated to higher education, research institutions, or nonprofit organizations in the state.
If Trump’s executive order withholding billions in federal funding remains in place, it would severely disrupt critical state programs.
According to the OFM, the freeze would impact major programs in Washington, including:
• Highway planning and construction – Over $952 million
• Child Care and Development Block Grants – Over $393 million, providing childcare assistance for low-income working families with children under 13
• National School Lunch Program – Over $361 million
• Title I education grants – Over $310 million
• Special education grants – Over $275 million
• Foster care grants – Over $166 million
• Child support enforcement – More than $134 million
• Allergy and infectious disease research – More than $121 million
• Low-income home energy assistance – More than $96 million, helping families with heating and energy costs
• Substance-abuse treatment block grants – More than $65 million
• Veterans’ nursing care funding – More than $59 million
In addition to these programs, hundreds of others would be affected, including funding for immunizations, clean water initiatives, transit, global AIDS prevention, crime victim assistance, and refugee support programs.
Even if the federal government reverses course, Murray warned that Trump’s willingness to weaponize federal funding against states that do not align with his agenda could create long-term instability. She pointed out that Trump has already blocked billions of dollars through previous executive orders and continues to do so despite the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reversing its initial guidance.
“Let me make one thing perfectly clear—even before this latest whirl of chaos, President Trump was already illegally blocking billions of dollars,” Murray said. “And even after the OMB guidance was reversed, he is still holding back all of those funds through his illegal executive orders.”
“If this illegal freeze continues, people will lose jobs, and communities will lose out on projects that have been in the works for years,” Murray concluded.
