Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont on Thursday said it’s been a crazy week of conflicting federal government messages about grant funds.
A memo from the federal Office of Management and Budget on Monday said a temporary pause on federal grants would begin on Tuesday night, sending state offices into a panic. The announcement brought a chunk of the federal delegation to Hartford on Tuesday evening for a press conference that outlined the effect a funding shutdown could have on the state. The memo was rescinded during the event.
But while the White House said that the initial message and its deadline had been rescinded, its effort to review federal spending has not.
“It's a confusing mess,” Lamont said. “We thought we had clarity [Wednesday]. We thought OMB had pulled back their dictate. We thought the courts had said that we're going to put a pause on this at least through next week… now we're finding that each and every one of the departments is coming out with their own special set of restrictions and rules that can harm us.”
According to Lamont, those regulations include the Department of Public Health cutting any DEI-related programs. They also include the Department of Transportation favoring new bridge and highway construction in states that have “user fees,” known as tolls, high population growth, and are deporting undocumented immigrants.
“The irony is, President Trump has said no to congestion pricing and yes to user fees,” Lamont said. “It’ll be clear someday.”
