Leaders in business, academia, government and the nonprofit sector were thrown into a foreboding lurch Tuesday as news of a sudden freeze on federal funding ordered by President Donald Trump spread around San Diego County.
Elected officials at every level of government were bombarded with questions they could not immediately answer about the status of public benefits, school meals, law enforcement training, subsidized child care, research grants and most every other U.S. government program.
The confusion roiled virtually every segment of the economy, both locally and nationally.
“Everyone remains in a bit of suspense as we wait to see how this will be resolved,” said Troy Flint, a spokesperson for the California School Boards Association, which represents leaders of public school districts that educate millions of students across the state.
The chaos and uncertainty barely subsided after a federal judge in Washington, D.C., issued a temporary stay of the executive order, which had been scheduled to take effect at 5 p.m. Eastern time.
The ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Loren L. AliKhan delays the freeze until Monday.
The ordered funding freeze came in a two-page letter issued by the White House Office of Management and Budget. The lack of specifics in the White House memo left the future in doubt for many critical programs paid for with U.S. funding.
While Social Security and Medicare payments were not expected to be affected, federal health care online portals were inaccessible in all 50 states on Tuesday. At a White House press briefing, officials declined to specify that health care payments would not be paused.
The whirlwind of drama angered San Diego leaders who rely on millions of dollars in federal revenue to deliver much-needed services and to complete business and research projects that are already under way.
Walt Bishop, the city of San Diego’s director of government affairs, said stopping the flow of federal dollars would jeopardize public safety, impede efforts to rebuild critical infrastructure like bridges and storm channels and disrupt services to the area’s most vulnerable people.
“It would be highly detrimental to San Diegans — and to Americans across the nation, frankly — for federal funding to be pulled back in the manner proposed,” he said.
Jessica Anderson, the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce interim president and chief executive, said the move by the Trump administration was “deeply alarming for our region” and could set back many local initiatives.
“Freezing critical programs such as small business loans, health care, education, child care and infrastructure will severely affect our workforce and economy,” she said. “These programs are intrinsically tied to our regional economy, and halting their support threatens both immediate stability and long-term growth.”
Sen. Adam Schiff issued a statement saying the suspension of federal spending would have “deeply destructive consequences” for fire recovery efforts, ongoing law enforcement funding, health care access and much more.
“Congress — Republicans and Democrats — approved this funding to meet the needs of ordinary Americans,” Schiff said. “It is the law. It is not optional.”
The freeze was particularly concerning, and confusing, for local nonprofits that provide aid to some of the county’s neediest residents.
Vino Pajanor, CEO of Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego, says the news of the funding freeze came as a “shock,” and he’s still trying to make sense of it.
Catholic Charities’ migrant shelter, refugee resettlement program and senior residential and nutrition services could all feel the effects of the freeze. About 95% of the nonprofit’s funding comes from public sources, and its migrant shelter gets about a third of its $48 million budget from federal funding, he said.
And Pajanor said there’s been “no clarity at all” over the federal government’s plan for the refugee resettlement programs, particularly for refugees who arrived before the State Department moved to halt funding for them last week.
“Why would the federal government do this to us?” he said. “Instead of helping the people on the street or in the pantries or at our shelters, we are now trying to figure out, ‘How do we keep our doors open for tomorrow?’”
Carissa Casares, the spokesperson for the Feeding San Diego food bank, said they are not clear about what the funding freeze might mean — even though they were told in a memo that food stamps and other social-service programs will not be disrupted.
“However, there was no mention of the Emergency Food Assistance Program, Commodity Supplemental Food Program, school meals or other programs that we are monitoring,” she said in a statement.
The local Meals On Wheels executive said almost 15 percent of the agency’s $10 million budget comes from federal funding — and hundreds of clients could be affected. Even so, CEO Brent Wakefield said other Meals On Wheels programs could be in deeper trouble.
“We’re talking millions of vulnerable seniors across the country who will potentially no longer be eating on a regular basis,” he said.
The San Diego Unified School District said it did not believe a spending pause would affect its most important programs. But “we don’t have sufficient information to determine the full scope of the impact of this memo,” a spokesperson said.
Other San Diego business executives said they already plan to evaluate their programs and determine whether they can continue to operate even through this week.
Chris Van Gorder, for example, the Scripps Health CEO, said his organization was told to expect delays in federal funding for up to three months. Without that revenue, he said, Scripps Health already is looking at possible layoffs or other service disruptions.
“Right now, organizations will have to decide if they continue the programs/research until funding is restored,” Van Gorder said. “Of course, that could mean furloughing of staff too.”
Fernando Sanudo, who runs the nonprofit Vista Community Clinic, said the monthly draw from the $9 million his agency is set to receive in federal funding this year suddenly stalled this week.
“We can’t draw down for January or February, and I’m not sure how long it’s going to last,” he said. “We don’t want to be alarmist to our employees, but we need to be honest and just let them know that, at this point, we don’t know.”
Sanudo said up to 25 of his employees may be immediately affected by the pause in funding — people who work with high-risk youths, parents, HIV patients and a broad range of community health programs.
“Until we hear specifically that the grant programs will be terminated, I guess we’ll continue to employ our staff,” he said.
At UC San Diego, one of the country’s top university recipients of federal research funding, leaders sought to soothe the concerns of thousands of students, patients and employees.
In a note sent across the university system, UC President Michael V. Drake said he and his team were working to clarify the extent of the order — and the impact.
“This is an uncertain time for many and while we don’t yet know what lies ahead, we remain steadfast in our values, our mission and our commitment to caring for and supporting our entire community,” he said. “I encourage you and affected members of our community to make use of available support resources on our campuses.”
Many other community leaders declined to comment publicly on the possible effects of the federal freeze because they remain unsure of what it might mean — both this week and after the hearing scheduled for Monday.
Bo Mazzetti is president of the Southern California Tribal Chairmen’s Association, which coordinates and administers a host of federally funded programs for its 25 member tribes, including food assistance and child care.
“If there’s a draw-down restriction, that has a major impact on every county, city and state,” he said.
Several local officials who rely on federal grants to deliver services were taking a wait-and-see approach to the Trump administration order. Others were crossing their fingers — and bracing for the worst.
Lisa Jones, the president and CEO of the San Diego Housing Commission, said the agency didn’t anticipate immediate impacts on its rental assistance, affordable housing or homelessness programs.
In the meantime, she and her staff are consulting with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, national affordable housing industry organizations, San Diego city officials and others.
Officials at the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, who have received nearly $150 million in Federal Aviation Administration grants in recent years, were still digesting the effect of the Trump order.
“We’re seeking clarity from the FAA,” said the airport agency, which is in the middle of a $3.8 billion upgrade to Terminal 1.
Several members of Congress and business leaders said they planned to file lawsuits to prevent the Trump administration from moving forward with the freeze next week. The White House said it stood behind the legality of the order.
Staff writers David Garrick, Jemma Stephenson, Kristen Taketa, Jennifer Van Grove and Lori Weisberg contributed to this report.
