By Mark Maynard
Kentucky Today
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced Thursday his office has joined a nationwide lawsuit against the administration of President Donald Trump over a federal funding freeze that is impacting programs in the Commonwealth.
The lawsuit was initially filed by 22 Democratic state attorneys general in late January. Kentucky’s Republican Attorney General Russell Coleman did not sign on to the suit.
Thursday morning state attorneys general filed the amended complaint and added the Governor’s office as a plaintiff.
The freeze has affected Medicaid, the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Abandoned Mined Lands program and more. While the freeze has been blocked by a federal judge, this action was needed to ensure Kentucky receives all the funding already allocated to the state.
“Without Medicaid, our rural hospitals would shut down and so many health care workers would lose their jobs,” said Gov. Beshear. “And the Appalachian Regional Commission is vital to creating jobs and providing better health care and infrastructure in Appalachia. I want to make it clear I would have taken this action against any president, regardless of party, if they tried to stop these really important funds.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, also filed a lawsuit Thursday despite the fact that federal courts have repeatedly rejected the Trump administration’s sweeping pause on federal funding, and Shapiro’s lawyers suggest that the Trump administration is continuing to ignore court orders to restore access to the suspended money.
Shapiro’s lawsuit, filed in federal court in Philadelphia, calls actions by the federal agencies “flagrantly lawless” and said the agencies have no legal authority to unilaterally refuse to spend congressionally appropriated money over a policy disagreement.
Further, the agencies have provided no plausible explanation for the suspension, Shapiro’s lawyers said.
Shapiro, his agencies, and members of Congress have tried to try to fully restore access to the money, the lawsuit said.
“Despite that work, and despite two temporary restraining orders requiring federal agencies to restore access to suspended funds, federal agencies continue to deny Pennsylvania agencies funding that they are entitled to receive,” the lawsuit said.
The federal agencies named as defendants — the White House Office of Management and Budget, the Environmental Protection Agency and the departments of Energy, Interior and Transportation — did not immediately comment on the lawsuit. In the Department of Interior’s case, it said its policy is not to comment on pending litigation.