‘Wake up call’: Top Utah leaders respond to Trump’s memo rescinding federal funding freeze

SALT LAKE CITY — Top lawmakers in Utah appeared relieved after the White House rescinded a memo to freeze federal funding Wednesday afternoon, calling the original freeze a “wake-up call” for the state — which receives a significant portion of its budget from the federal government.

The White House Office of Management and Budget issued the temporary pause on federal aid and grants on Monday evening, but a judge temporarily blocked the measure on Tuesday, pending a court hearing next week. The White House rescinded the memo Wednesday, though press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump’s executive orders “on federal funding remain in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented.”

Trump signed executive orders last week telling agencies to review spending that doesn’t align with the president’s agenda.

Utah senators reacted to the latest developments in a meeting with reporters Wednesday, after a day of confusion in light of the ordered freeze — which impacted the national Medicaid system and left some low-income people who rely on the program for health care coverage in limbo.

“Most of us spent yesterday trying to figure this out, and then we’re all relieved because at least we’ve moved back to a more normal process,” said Sen. Jerry Stevenson, R-Layton, when asked about the orders. “Some of us cut a day off of the legislative session yesterday, and it was like being stuck out in a field spinning our wheels.”

Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, said lawmakers have asked state agencies to look at their budgets each December and determine what they would do without federal funding.

“That’s a scary thought,” he said. “Maybe we have to think about it and try to figure out what we’re doing, how much we’re relying on the federal dollars. … I don’t think (the freeze) was restless, but I think it did wake us up. … It was a wake-up call.”

He said Utah uses a significant portion of the federal funds it receives on education, but many Utahns count on Medicaid for health insurance, something the state would be hard-pressed to replace.

“That’s a federal issue. We don’t have the capacity as a state to backfill … that type of a $5 billion deficit,” Adams said when asked if he could guarantee that Utahns wouldn’t be kicked off Medicaid if a funding freeze goes into effect in the future. “So, if the federal government chooses not to do that, then yeah, it’s in jeopardy. If they continue on, it’s not, but we’re dependent on the federal government.”

“It’s hard to say that, but we are dependent on it,” he added.

Adams and Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, said the issue is one for the federal government, encouraging Utahns to write to their representative or senator if they have concerns. Escamilla criticized the handling of the announcements from the White House, calling it “impossible — and almost mean — to do these types of announcements without even understanding the implications.”

Lawmakers said the federal government should be more fiscally responsible, especially with entitlements, such as Social Security, facing default in the coming years. Senate Majority Leader Kirk Cullimore, R-Draper, said state leaders should do more to prepare for some of those programs to change.

“If we’re not doing what we can at the state level to address what that might mean in the future, we’re being irresponsible, and I think our state — better than almost any other state – has taken steps to prepare for that,” he said.