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News is coming at us hot and fast these days. Below is an update on federal actions as of January 28th 2025 with information and analysis on the impacts to states and rural communities. The SiX ag program continues to  monitor these situations and update this information as needed. If you are a state legislature and need assistance on any of these issues or others, please reach out to [email protected]

See other CROP HOT Takes from: February 3 | February 19

• Executive Order Pauses All Federal Grants and Loans: UPDATE 1/28/25: A court injunction prevented the funding freeze from going into effect in the final hour leading to continuing legal battle. On Tuesday, January 28th, at 5pm ET, the Trump Administration is pausing disbursement of all federal grants and loans in order to do an “ideological review” of its spending. This decision has wide-ranging and as-yet unknown consequences for federal, state, and local agencies and organizations that rely on federal funding. On average, states receive about 30% of their revenue from the federal government, with Medicaid being the largest federally-funded grant program. As state Attorneys General move to file lawsuits to block the funding freeze, here is what we know (though this has changed throughout the day):
• Medicare and Social Security benefits will NOT be affected.
• The Education Department says the freeze does not apply to federal student loans and federal Pell grants. 
• An Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memo says the following programs will be impacted by the freeze: Department of Agriculture’s tribal food sovereignty program, Head Start, the Veterans’ Affairs Department’s suicide prevention and legal services grants, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP, program), and numerous sexual assault prevention programs within the Department of Justice. 
• According to a secondary memo released this afternoon by the OMB, SNAP and Medicaid will also not be impacted, however there are reports of Medicaid websites showing error messages in many states. 
• The Environmental Protection Agency is pausing disbursement of funds, including those allocated through the Inflation Reduction Act and the bipartisan infrastructure law.
• It is unclear whether funding for Meals on Wheels, disaster assistance, and other programs will be affected.
• For those wondering about the legality of the funding freeze, the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities has an FAQ about the constitutionality of impoundment (executive actions that prohibit Congressionally-allocated spending of funds).
• The Research Collaborative offers messaging guidance on this and other current administration actions. 
• CDC and Federal Health Agency Communications Suspended: The new administration has temporarily blocked public communication from federal health agencies, including the CDC and FDA, pending executive approval. Over the weekend, partners and farmers reported being unable to access CDC webinars on bird flu, raising concerns about their ability to continue preventing its spread in poultry and dairy operations without up-to-date information. With this restriction, state legislators will play an even more crucial role in providing relevant information. We suggest reaching out to your state health and human services department to get further guidance and clarification. We will continue to monitor the situation, and assistance is available if needed.  
• Immigration and Agriculture: The administration’s crackdown on immigrants and promised mass deportations will have outsized impacts on the U.S. food system, agriculture industry, and rural communities. Two-thirds of farmworkers who harvest our crops, half of meatpacking workers, and more than a quarter of farm industry truck drivers are immigrants, whether permanent residents, seasonal visa holders, or undocumented workers. Even the fear of immigration raids can have a chilling effect on these workplaces and their communities, as many of you are likely already seeing.
  • Some resources and analysis of this developing issue:
    • Farm Aid has compiled an extensive fact sheet on immigration and the food system.
    • The administration suggests that jobs held by deported workers will be filled by higher-paid U.S. citizens, but across the agriculture industry, the opposite is likely to happen, as reported in Politico. 
    • In one of the first federal funding freezes, issued last week, the Justice Department stopped contracts to aid groups working with people facing deportations, refugee resettlement, and other immigration concerns.
    • National Immigration Law Center offers many shareable “know your rights” materials and other resources, and Immigrant Legal Resource Center has a map of state laws on immigration enforcement (only Oregon and Illinois currently have comprehensive state laws restricting transfers of people to U.S. immigration authorities.).