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Vought Faces Legal Scrutiny Over Budget Cuts Targeting Sanctuary States
Published 3 weeks ago
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Russ Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, faces intense legal and political scrutiny over recent funding decisions. On February 11, 2026, attorneys general from Illinois, California, Colorado, and Minnesota filed a federal lawsuit against Vought and other officials, seeking a temporary restraining order by February 12 noon to block what they call the OMB Targeting Directive. According to the court filing from the Office of the Attorney General of California, this directive commands agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to terminate over 60 grants worth more than 600 million dollars exclusively in these states, starting February 12. The states argue the cuts target them for sanctuary policies, clean energy initiatives, and protests, violating the Constitution, the Spending Clause, and administrative law by being arbitrary and driven by political animus.
The complaint details how OMB, after a January budget data request to agencies on funds to 14 jurisdictions including these plaintiffs, issued the directive in early February. President Trump publicly stated in January he would stop payments to sanctuary cities, and on February 9, the Department of Health and Human Services notified Congress of the impending CDC grant cuts under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2026, which requires three full business days notice.
Democrats echo past criticisms. House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro has long accused Vought of violating the Impoundment Control Act through fund withholdings, as in Government Accountability Office decisions on programs like Renew Americas Schools and Head Start. Meanwhile, a potential Department of Homeland Security shutdown looms at midnight February 13 due to expired temporary funding, per Trillions National Weekly on February 11, amid stalled negotiations over Immigration and Customs Enforcement reforms, though core operations continue via prior multiyear funding.
Vought also oversees efforts at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where staff report his February 2025 stop work orders halted operations, though court injunctions have preserved funding from the Federal Reserve despite his claims of a crisis.
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The complaint details how OMB, after a January budget data request to agencies on funds to 14 jurisdictions including these plaintiffs, issued the directive in early February. President Trump publicly stated in January he would stop payments to sanctuary cities, and on February 9, the Department of Health and Human Services notified Congress of the impending CDC grant cuts under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2026, which requires three full business days notice.
Democrats echo past criticisms. House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro has long accused Vought of violating the Impoundment Control Act through fund withholdings, as in Government Accountability Office decisions on programs like Renew Americas Schools and Head Start. Meanwhile, a potential Department of Homeland Security shutdown looms at midnight February 13 due to expired temporary funding, per Trillions National Weekly on February 11, amid stalled negotiations over Immigration and Customs Enforcement reforms, though core operations continue via prior multiyear funding.
Vought also oversees efforts at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where staff report his February 2025 stop work orders halted operations, though court injunctions have preserved funding from the Federal Reserve despite his claims of a crisis.
Thank you for tuning in, listeners. Please subscribe for more updates. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
For more http://www.quietplease.ai
Get the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOta
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI