President Trump Orders Data Collection on Federal Funding to Democratic States
President Donald Trump’s budget office issued a directive this week for government agencies to gather data on federal funding sent to 14 mostly Democratic-controlled states and the District of Columbia. The purpose of this exercise is to identify and reduce improper and fraudulent use of these funds.
This directive comes shortly after Trump’s announcement of his intention to cut off federal funding to states with sanctuary cities that oppose his immigration policies. Although the start date for this action is set for February 1, further details have not been disclosed.
The memo sent to federal departments and agencies did not provide a specific explanation for targeting these states, but most of them were either on the administration’s list of sanctuary places or were home to jurisdictions that resisted ICE cooperation.
While there is no strict definition for sanctuary policies, they generally refer to limited cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
It’s important to note that the memo is primarily a data-gathering exercise and does not involve withholding funds at this stage.
Key Points of the Memo
The memo requests federal agencies to submit information by January 28 to the president’s budget office. The data requested includes details about the flow of money to California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia. Most of these states are under Democratic control.
The directive aims to collect information on various government funding streams, including grants, loans, and other federal funds provided to states, local governments, institutions of higher education, and nonprofits in the targeted states.
While the Trump administration has been focusing on allegations of fraudulent use of federal funds in Democratic states, it’s important to note that this memo is a preliminary step in data collection and does not involve immediate funding cuts.
For more information on this topic, please refer to the original article by Geoff Mulvihill, with contribution from Associated Press reporter Ali Swenson.
