KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Late Tuesday afternoon, a federal judge paused President Donald Trump's order to freeze certain federal loans and grants has entities on both sides of the state line in the Kansas City area wondering what could come next.
The temporary pause was set to go into effect at 4 p.m. local time and would have frozen the disbursement of certain types of federal funding, Scripps News reports.
As the courts review the pause, citizens, residents, businesses, entities and other agencies across Kansas City are left to figure out their next course of action.
LINK | Read the Office of Management and Budget's memo about which types of funding is impacted
Trump's freeze directed federal agencies to provide details reports on "any programs, projects or activities subject to this pause" by no later than Feb. 10, 2025.
KSHB 41 has reached out to entities of all kinds, from school districts, to hospitals and political officials to find out what impact the pause could have on them.
This story will be updated as responses are received.
School district reaction
The Grandview School District said it's too early to know the full impact the pause would have had on the district.
Still it expressed some concerns about the pause.
"Based on how the order was written, we would be most concerned about potential effects on programs such as Medicaid, school breakfast and lunch programs, Title I education grants, state grants for child care, and Head Start," the district said in a statement.
Officials address pause
Kansas City, Missouri, Quinton Lucas weighed in on the issue saying it could impact projects in the city, among others.
"Certainly there will be an effect on Kansas City," Lucas said. "If as written, if the president's latest directive from the office of budget and management were to go into effect, it could have very material impacts on Kansas City long-term. My view right now is A), it will in its entirety. I do think there is a challenge for climate sustainability funding. I think there is a real challenge for affirmative action, diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in our country and our city as a result. Those are all things we’re studying. Less concerned about funds, I am concerned about projects."
As part of next steps, Lucas said his office will reach out to U.S. cabinet department heads for more information.
Missouri Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II expressed disappointment in the order, calling it among other things "unconstitutional."
"President Trump's unconstitutional order to pause all federal grants, loans, and financial assistance is causing mass confusion and chaos in communities nationwide, including right here in Missouri’s Fifth Congressional District," Cleaver said in part in the statement. "This blatantly unlawful action threatens to freeze federal loans to local small businesses, prevent nonprofits from receiving federal investments that enable critical services for our communities, pause disaster relief funding, and so much more."
Cleaver and dozens of other Democratic lawmakers penned a letter Tuesday to the Trump administration seeking clarity on the extent of the federal funding pause. U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids (D - Kansas) was among the co-signers on the letter.
LINK | Read the Democrats' letter
KSHB 41 News reached out to U.S. Sens. Jerry Moran (R - Kansas), Josh Hawley (R - Missouri), Roger Marshall (R - Kansas) and Eric Schmitt (R - Missouri) to see how the federal funding pause would impact residents and business owners in Kansas. A spokesperson for Moran's office replied the senator was working on a statement. Sens. Marshall and Hawley had yet to reply as of 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
A spokesperson for Sen. Schmitt did provide a statement.
"President Trump is correct to review grant applications to ensure that the federal government doesn't throw away taxpayer money on divisive DEI and wasteful Green New Deal programs," Schmitt said in the statement.
A spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Derek Schmidt said Trump's freeze is part of "dismantling the federal administrative state," which "is going to be a lengthy process."
"The Trump administration has paused grants and aid to allow time to separate necessary spending from wasteful spending," Schmitt said in the statement, adding that the pause "will allow established, necessary programs Kansans reply on to be preserved and strengthened."
KSHB 41 News also reached out to U.S. Reps. Sam Graves (R - Missouri) and Mark Alford (R - Missouri) for comment and similarly had not received a response as of 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Concerns over Medicaid portals
Early Tuesday afternoon, the New York Times reported the Medicaid portal had gone down in all 50 states.
A spokesperson for Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly confirmed Kansas' Medicaid portal was down as of early Tuesday afternoon. Regarding the larger picture of a federal funding pause, the spokesperson said Kelly is "evaluating the new directive from the Trump administration to understand the impact this memo could have on state programs."
A KSHB 41 News request to Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe's office did not generate an immediate response, though the governor was set to make his State of the State address Tuesday afternoon.
A White House spokesperson posted on social media the Medicaid portal issue was a "glitch" and officials were working to restore access.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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