Congress members — they’re just like us.
As the bewilderment surrounding the Trump administration’s spending hold entered a new phase in its third day Wednesday, Maryland’s delegation members visiting the Annapolis State House knew as little as anyone else.
They happened to meet with reporters shortly after the White House — maybe? — canceled its order freezing trillions in grants and loans.
They had no more or less access to key information now that Donald Trump is back in the Oval Office than your average Joe. They felt the week’s whiplash too.
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“We are not privy to any kind of secret clarifying memo to the clarifying memo that was just rescinded,” U.S. Rep. Sarah Elfreth said. “We have as much information as the general public has, which is not helpful when we are on the front lines.”
U.S. Reps. Steny Hoyer, Johnny Olszewski Jr., April McClain Delaney and Elfreth told reporters after having lunch with Gov. Wes Moore that they jumped on a scheduled video call with their fellow Democrats.
Without warning from the executive branch, it appeared Trump had reversed the order to pause funds to certain programs, according to news reports.
Then, moments later, Trump’s press secretary posted another turn on social media. Just the initial memo ordering the freeze was rescinded. But the freeze was still very much on.
The top federal lawmakers, all Democrats, said they’re hearing of policy changes possibly affecting trillions of dollars in taxpayer funding as the public does.
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Hoyer said he suspected that information dearth was true as well for Republicans — “We don’t have any more information than we’ve read in the paper or heard from our constituents,” he said.
Congress has “the power of the purse,” given to it by the Constitution, Olszewski said. It appropriates funds by passing laws. Trump’s order holds back funds that have already gone through the legislative process.
“They’ve already been approved,” Elfreth said.
The Trump-Vance administration on Monday ordered federal grant and loan funds paused without clear direction, causing confusion and uncertainty among lawmakers at every level of government. At least two state agencies and several nonprofits in Baltimore said systems they use to access federal funds were blocked for hours.
The four delegation members said they lacked what they needed to answer constituents’ concerns.
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Elfreth said her office has received calls from elected officials, presidents of community colleges and nonprofit leaders worried about their day-to-day operations.
”I would be hard-pressed to find a constituent of the nearly 800,000 people I represent who does not benefit from some degree of that federal funding,” she said.
A federal judge stayed Trump’s order until Monday, and lawmakers are attempting to prepare for what’s next.
Meanwhile, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown has joined a lawsuit along with 21 other states to block the funding freeze. A judge in that case said Wednesday he’s inclined to block the Trump administration effort.
Hoyer said, “The chaos that is being created for messaging purposes by this administration, to respond to the pledges that the president made during the course of the campaign, have been done, obviously, without significant thought.”
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