The Trump administration’s plan to freeze federal funding across the country in order to root out unwanted spending created widespread confusion and concern on the Vineyard this week.
The federal Office of Management and Budget announced the halt to federal funding in a memorandum on Monday so the Trump administration could undertake a comprehensive review to see if federal grants and assistance fell in line with President Donald Trump’s priorities.
The freeze was expected to have wide-ranging effects on the Vineyard, potentially holding up funding to the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), Martha’s Vineyard Airport, towns and many other essential services for everyone from young children to veterans.
“This freeze may affect more services and people on the Islands than many may realize,” said Martina Thornton, the Dukes County manager. “Federal funds are critical in providing support to the more vulnerable members of our community, whether related to housing, food security or health care.”
But by Wednesday, after being preliminarily blocked by a judge and questioned by 23 state attorneys general, including Massachusetts’s Andrea Campbell, the administration had withdrawn the memorandum, pulling back the explicit orders on how to carry out the review.
This seemingly rescinded the freeze, though the White House continued to say it would still work to review federal funding.
“The President’s [executive orders] on federal funding remain in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on social media Wednesday.
The administration initially said it was implementing the freeze in order to promote American manufacturing, end “wokeness,” and ensure government efficiency, according to a two-page memo from Matthew Vaeth, the Office of Management and Budget’s acting director.
He went on to say that the use of resources to “advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve.”
The administration’s plan sparked questions about the legality of halting funds already approved by Congress, and raised concerns from Island entities that rely on federal financial assistance.
Cheryl Andrews-Maltais, the chairwoman of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head council, said that almost all of the tribe’s operations, from environmental programs to children’s support, could have been halted under the freeze, though Medicare would have still been available.
“We are totally reliant on our annual funding and grant funding for all our programs and services,” Ms. Andrews-Maltais said.
The council chair was in Oklahoma on Wednesday, meeting with other Indigenous leaders across the country to discuss how to move forward.
“We paid it forward with the lives of our Ancestors, our lands and our natural resources in exchange for the United States providing for our health, education and general welfare,” she said.
Martha’s Vineyard Airport also heavily relies on federal funding. The Federal Aviation Administration offers reimbursements on everything from snow removal equipment to a planned $15 million grant to overhaul the aging terminal building.
From airport director Geoff Freeman’s perspective, the funding was back in order, though he was keeping an eye on the situation.
“We’re still cautiously watching what’s going on,” he said.
The Martha’s Vineyard Public School system receives several federal grants through the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for special education, disadvantaged students and the free breakfast and lunch programs.
“We provide meals to the students every day, and every month we submit data to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and they will reimburse us,” said Mark Friedman, the system’s school business administrator. “That money that the state uses comes from the national school lunch program, it indirectly is federal money.”
Even before the administration rescinded the memorandum, the school system believed that many of its grants for special education would have been unaffected, because they had already been allocated by the state.
Others questioned the strategy of the rollout, saying it created mass confusion, with few answers.
“There’s a lot of questions around what’s the thought process on rolling something out like this in this way,” said Scott Turton, the interim director of Martha’s Vineyard Community Services.
The Trump administration’s freeze is currently was on hold after a federal judge in Washington, D.C. temporarily blocked the policy’s implementation through Monday. Separately, a coalition of 23 attorneys general filed a lawsuit to try and stop the implementation.
According to Massachusetts attorney general Andrea Campbell, Massachusetts receives more than $20 billion in federal funding each year to support projects to improve the health, welfare and economic stabilities of Bay Staters.
“President Trump’s action to pause federal aid is a reckless abuse of power that harms the very working people and families he promised to protect,” the attorney general said.
U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, one of the Island’s representatives in the senate, was concerned about the Trump administration’s plan.
“Trump’s administration isn’t governing — it’s careening from chaos to crisis that it created, leaving people guessing whether life-saving services, school lunches, home heating, health care, and public safety are going to be funded day by day,” he said.
Gwyn Skiles and Addison Antonoff contributed to this article.
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