Musk now controls all US payments 🚨 | USDA freezes payments to farmers

[nycfan]

“… U.S. District Judge John McConnell ordered the administration to “immediately restore frozen funding” while his order remains in effect, including to the National Institutes of Health and to fulfill the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Improvement and Jobs Act.

“The broad categorical and sweeping freeze of federal funds is, as the Court found, likely unconstitutional and has caused and continues to cause irreparable harm to a vast portion of this country,” McConnell ruled. “These pauses in funding violate the plain text of the [order].”

… The Trump administration responded that it is attempting to root out fraud in the programs, but the judge said that reasoning is not sufficient to justify defying the order.

“The freezes in effect now were a result of the broad categorical order, not a specific finding of possible fraud,” he said.

McConnell hinted at the possibility of contempt for officials who he deems as continuing to defy his order, citing a 1975 court ruling that noted “Persons who make private determinations of the law and refuse to obey an order generally risk criminal contempt even if the order is ultimately ruled incorrect.””

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/10/spending-freeze-donald-trump-015514

——
Inching toward a genuine Constitutional Crisis if Team Trump refuses to comply — which is not so outlandish considering that the judge says they are currently not fully complying …

 

[Mulberry Heel]

The dynamic is quite different. In 2017, Trump lost the popular vote by quite a lot and there was a sense of unfairness in the Electoral College outcome (justified or not). Also, the losing candidate had a dedicated base of supporters who had been with her for years and the MeToo movement was in swing, so people were already activated.

In 2024, Biden policies had plenty of Dem support but little independent support and either way almost no one on his own side really had any enthusiasm for Biden. then the circumstances of Harris getting the nomination was unfortunate forced by the Biden breaking his implied promise to be a one term bridge to the future and running again in the first place. The Democratic coalition fractured.

Today, Trump won the EC and the popular vote. A lot of Dems stayed home and a lot more had an initial FAFO reaction that assumed Trump 2.0 would be the same incompetent show as 1.0, mostly sound and fury signifying very little substantive change beyond normal party change in the presidency.

But whoops, the Trump 2.0 blitzkrig has been entirely different — much more what the “alarmists” were predicting based on public info like what Trump said, who he surrounded himself with and Project 2025.

It takes time for a splintered coalition to heal, if it ever does. After the 2008 election it looked like Republicans would be lost in the wilderness for decades and the GOP minority in Congress had no clue how to respond to Obama’s popularity and Dem coErrol of Congress. The Tea Party uprising was spawned in reaction to Obamacare and other issues and eventually grew into the MAGA that ate the GOP. But in the meantime, the GOP remade itself around opposition to key Obama policies and rage o we the bailout of Big Banks.

Which is all to say that the Dems look rudderless now because they have a lot of different coalitions arguing about which other coalition member is to blame for the Trump win. As enough issues arise to force those coalitions back into their always fragile armistice to oppose Trump, Musk and MAGA, eventually a coordinated response will emerge. The issue is not whether but how long will it take? Months? years? The Reagan Revolution really emerged in late 1983 through mid 1987. Let’s hope this is a much shorter turnaround period.

And yes, there is always the risk that the opposition collapses and all we have least is some sort of underground resistance to the collapse of democratic governance. I get that but also thing that great unraveling would take even more stress than the government is under now.

The only problem with all of this is that in previous eras the splintered, defeated party was given a chance to rebuild itself as we were still operating under democratic and traditional norms, such as the Republicans after Obama's big win in 2008. This time seems very different from any previous era, given who is now in charge. I simply have no faith that Republicans will be willing to voluntarily cede control of the House or Senate in 2026 or the presidency in 2028 if they were to lose, or that they will allow any elections in which Democrats might threaten their control of government. I also still get the sense that many Democrats have either given up or have just withdrawn from politics, at least for a good while. I guess we'll have to see.

 

[nycfan]

Farmers on the hook for millions after Trump freezes USDA funds​

The White House had repeatedly said the funding freeze would not affect benefits that go directly to individuals.

“Farmers report missing millions of dollars of funding they were promised by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, despite promises from the Trump administration that a federal funding freeze would not apply to projects directly benefiting individuals.

On his first day in office, President Donald Trump ordered the USDA to freeze funds for several programs designated by President Joe Biden’s signature clean-energy and health-care law, the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. The freeze paused some funding for the department’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which helps farmers address natural resource concerns, and the Rural Energy for America Program, which provides financial assistance for farmers to improve their infrastructure.

Farmers who signed contracts with the USDA under those programs paid up front to build fencing, plant new crops and install renewable energy systems with guarantees that the federal government would issue grants and loan guarantees to cover at least part of their costs.

Now, with that money frozen, they’re on the hook.

… The USDA has also halted funding for other programs, including scientific research grants in agriculture and producing climate-smart crops, according to a letter sent to the agency Thursday from House Democrats on the Agriculture and Appropriations committees.

“Pulling the rug out from these recipients runs counter to the mission of the USDA and will quickly and significantly cripple economic development in rural America,” the letter says….”

 

[nycfan]

Farmers on the hook for millions after Trump freezes USDA funds​

The White House had repeatedly said the funding freeze would not affect benefits that go directly to individuals.

“Farmers report missing millions of dollars of funding they were promised by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, despite promises from the Trump administration that a federal funding freeze would not apply to projects directly benefiting individuals.

On his first day in office, President Donald Trump ordered the USDA to freeze funds for several programs designated by President Joe Biden’s signature clean-energy and health-care law, the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. The freeze paused some funding for the department’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which helps farmers address natural resource concerns, and the Rural Energy for America Program, which provides financial assistance for farmers to improve their infrastructure.

Farmers who signed contracts with the USDA under those programs paid up front to build fencing, plant new crops and install renewable energy systems with guarantees that the federal government would issue grants and loan guarantees to cover at least part of their costs.

Now, with that money frozen, they’re on the hook.

… The USDA has also halted funding for other programs, including scientific research grants in agriculture and producing climate-smart crops, according to a letter sent to the agency Thursday from House Democrats on the Agriculture and Appropriations committees.

“Pulling the rug out from these recipients runs counter to the mission of the USDA and will quickly and significantly cripple economic development in rural America,” the letter says….”

Separately, as previously noted, USAID shut down is also hurting US farmers who sell crops to the program for international relief projects.

 

[nycfan]

Farmers on the hook for millions after Trump freezes USDA funds​

The White House had repeatedly said the funding freeze would not affect benefits that go directly to individuals.

“Farmers report missing millions of dollars of funding they were promised by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, despite promises from the Trump administration that a federal funding freeze would not apply to projects directly benefiting individuals.

On his first day in office, President Donald Trump ordered the USDA to freeze funds for several programs designated by President Joe Biden’s signature clean-energy and health-care law, the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. The freeze paused some funding for the department’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which helps farmers address natural resource concerns, and the Rural Energy for America Program, which provides financial assistance for farmers to improve their infrastructure.

Farmers who signed contracts with the USDA under those programs paid up front to build fencing, plant new crops and install renewable energy systems with guarantees that the federal government would issue grants and loan guarantees to cover at least part of their costs.

Now, with that money frozen, they’re on the hook.

… The USDA has also halted funding for other programs, including scientific research grants in agriculture and producing climate-smart crops, according to a letter sent to the agency Thursday from House Democrats on the Agriculture and Appropriations committees.

“Pulling the rug out from these recipients runs counter to the mission of the USDA and will quickly and significantly cripple economic development in rural America,” the letter says….”