Delaware lawmakers, leaders scramble to respond to and block Trump’s executive orders

DELAWARE – Delaware’s top decision-makers are scrambling to respond to and block several of President Donald Trump’s executive orders.

Fighting Against Funding Freeze

In particular, the group said they remain extremely concerned about the reversed order to freeze most federal funding.

“There are still executive orders in place that freeze disbursement of funding under things like the Infrastructure (Investments and Jobs Act) and Inflation Reduction Act,” said U.S. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.)

Coons was not alone in calling the order to freeze federal funding unconstitutional.

“It would threaten access to everything from life-saving medical care to housing to food and child care assistance, to programs that heat homes, administer veterans care, improve access to clean drinking water and more,” said U.S. Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.)

“There is no version of this memo that will not be dangerous for Delawareans.”

Blunt Rochester said she and Coons convened more than 250 stakeholders to discuss the potential impacts of the freeze. The meeting included first responders, military families at Dover Air Force Base, elected officials, community health providers, higher education institution leaders, and more she said.

“This is an all-hands-on-deck moment, and we are working and fighting for (Delawareans),” Blunt Rochester said.

Freshman U.S. Representative Sarah McBride (D-Del.) also heard such worries. She said officials at senior centers worried about being unable to provide hot meals. Local leaders in various cities and towns asked how frozen federal funding would impact their residents, McBride added. And, she said questions were raised about how projects like beach replenishment may be thwarted.

Even though the order has been blocked, McBride said potential future iterations of the initiative could be coming down the line.

“The number one issue that Delawareans have been bringing up to me over the last week is the Trump Administration’s attempt to freeze federal funding for programs and services here in Delaware … There is no version of this memo that will not be dangerous for Delawareans,” McBride said.

U.S. Senators Fight Shuttering of USAID

Meanwhile, Coons said he and other lawmakers are frantically working to block the president’s order to shutter the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Coons said he plans to pen a letter, along with other U.S. Senators, to Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanding more answers. He added he is working with Republican lawmakers to convince them to demand a roll-back of the executive orders at issue.

“In law, there is a prohibition on any restructuring or reorganizing or freezing of USAID without consultation from Congress. That did not happen,” Coons said.

Federal Lawsuit Not Over Yet

Just after the executive order freezing federal funding, Attorney General Kathleen Jennings (D-Del.) and attorneys general from 21 other states and Washington, D.C. sued the Trump Administration. A Rhode Island federal judge awarded the plaintiffs a temporary restraining order against the directive.

“Right now, the federal government is prohibited from cutting federal funding to states including Delaware,” Jennings said.

Jennings said the group is preparing to further the fight, asking the judge for a preliminary injunction.

“We need to continue to battle in getting a permanent injunction telling the federal government, ‘You can’t do this,'” Jennings added.

State-Level Strategy, Looking Ahead

At the state level, Governor Matt Meyer (D-Del.) said lawmakers are under a time crunch to complete the budget amid the confusion. The Joint Finance Committee will begin its work to finalize the budget on Tuesday, Feb. 4.

“How do you do that between tariffs and federal funding freezes? It’s hard to predict anything about the world tomorrow, next week, or next month … Trump has a goal, and he has billionaires trying to take tax dollars from working people so that he can eventually cut taxes for the few very, very wealthy across our country. It’s not acceptable,” Meyer said.

The governor urged Delawareans to submit their input on how frozen federal funding would impact them on a new state website.

“We all must still be vigilant. The fight is not over, and the struggle in the coming days may be harder than we expect,” Meyer said.