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As Gov. Glenn Youngkin was assuring Virginians on Tuesday that direct federal aid would not be suspended as part of the Trump administration funding freeze, an internal memo obtained by The Mercury shows that his office was aware of potential problems.
The memo, sent by Youngkin鈥檚 chief of staff John Littel Tuesday, acknowledges that some aid portals were briefly shut down as federal agencies scrambled to implement Trump鈥檚 executive orders.
鈥淚n some instances, aid portals were temporarily suspended during the day as federal agencies processed this memorandum,鈥� Littel wrote.
Less than 24 hours later, the Trump administration on Wednesday afternoon聽Monday鈥檚 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memo that had set the freeze into motion. The聽聽outlined Trump鈥檚 intent to unwind policies enacted under former President Joe Biden鈥檚 administration.
The sudden rescission could potentially add to the uncertainty surrounding which programs might still be affected and for how long 鈥� especially after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, attempted to clarify that it only applied to the OMB memo, but not the funding freeze itself, which she said follow鈥檚 Trump鈥檚 executive orders and 鈥渨ill be rigorously implemented.鈥�
Littel鈥檚 own memo聽聽to White House guidance clarifying that the freeze wasn鈥檛 a blanket halt on federal funding but applied only to programs tied to Trump鈥檚 executive orders 鈥� targeting initiatives such as DEI, the Green New Deal, and funding nongovernmental organizations deemed to 鈥渦ndermine the national interest.鈥�
Lawmakers in other states also reported聽聽the Medicaid payment systems yesterday.
With little clarity on which programs might be affected, Virginia lawmakers scrambled to assess the fallout of Trump鈥檚 federal funding freeze 鈥� raising concerns about potential hits to economic development, health care and disaster relief. Some blasted Trump and, by extension, Youngkin.
Meanwhile, Littel acknowledged the widespread concern but echoed Youngkin鈥檚 criticism of what he called 鈥渇earmongering.鈥�
鈥淯nfortunately, due to very limited information from OMB and a fair amount of misinformation, many individuals and agencies are understandably concerned,鈥� Littel wrote. 鈥淎nd sadly, several people engaged in fearmongering throughout the day.鈥�
Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, Tuesday pushed back on the notion that the issue was being overblown, arguing it would be 鈥渋rresponsible鈥� for state lawmakers to ignore the potential ripple effects of federal decisions on Virginia.
That concern isn鈥檛 unfounded 鈥� federal grants are the largest source of Virginia鈥檚 non-general fund revenue, supporting bipartisan state initiatives. According to a May 2024 report from the House Appropriations Committee, the state is set to receive over聽聽and contracts for the current biennium.
Virginia House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, went further, calling Trump鈥檚 planned freezes 鈥減olitical games鈥� and warning that critical efforts 鈥� like post-Hurricane Helene recovery and Medicaid access 鈥� would be in jeopardy.
Following Wednesday afternoon鈥檚 rescission of the White House memo, Scott turned to X, blasting the GOP for the chaos of the last 48 hours.
鈥淭his is priceless,鈥� Scott wrote. 鈥淩epublicans 鈥� especially Governor Youngkin 鈥� spent all day twisting themselves into pretzels defending Trump鈥檚 disastrous decision. And then 鈥� bam 鈥� it gets rescinded. Eventually, everyone who ties themselves to Trump ends up looking like a fool. Stand by for more chaos.鈥�
Despite mounting concerns, Youngkin and the White House had insisted that Trump鈥檚 federal funding freeze wouldn鈥檛 disrupt essential services.
鈥淭here鈥檚 not going to be an effect of this pause on those critical individual assistance and state run programs,鈥� Youngkin told reporters Wednesday morning. 鈥淚 called (President Trump) again this morning and reaffirmed.鈥�
He also again took aim at Democrats, accusing them of stoking unnecessary fear.
鈥淭his misinformation hurts people,鈥� Youngkin said. 鈥淚 know that people will be worried about their health care coverage, and we can鈥檛, for a minute, suggest that it鈥檚 not going to be there when they go see a doctor.鈥�
But U.S. Rep. Don Beyer, D-Alexandria, wasn鈥檛 buying it. In a pointed post聽聽Wednesday, he highlighted Youngkin鈥檚 own administration鈥檚 admission that aid portals were briefly frozen.
鈥淵our own administration acknowledged internally that 鈥榓id portals鈥� were 鈥榯emporarily suspended by the freeze. Hospital payments were frozen,鈥� Beyer wrote. 鈥淭his happened because of a terribly written order so incompetently executed that you yourself had to call the White House for clarity.鈥�
While Youngkin and Trump insist that Medicaid isn鈥檛 affected by the federal funding freeze, access to its portal was still temporarily paused Tuesday, raising fresh concerns about the program鈥檚 future.
Despite not being directly targeted by Trump鈥檚 executive order, Medicaid remains in Republican crosshairs, with both Trump and聽聽weighing potential cuts. The program provides health insurance to low-income earners and people with disabilities, covering about聽
the Commonwealth is also one of several states with a trigger law that would end its Medicaid program if federal funding is slashed. In response, state Sens. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield, and Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, plan to introduce budget amendments to eliminate that trigger 鈥� an effort to safeguard coverage for those who rely on it.
