LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It’s been 24 hours of political whiplash as Kentuckians seek clarity on the federal funding freeze.
Tuesday a federal judge paused a federal funding freeze imposed by the Trump administration, but following the confusion President Donald Trump rescinded the order.
On Wednesday, Kentucky’s elected officials and other leaders sought clarity on which programs were actually at risk.
“It was illegal. It was poorly written, and it would have been anywhere from detrimental to destructive in every single state. This was written so broad,” Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., said during a news conference. “A big concern and I hope before any other executive orders that a lot more time, a lot more care is spent, both, in ensuring the legality of it but also the specificity which is really important,” Kentucky’s Democratic governor added.
In Louisville, the Coalition for the Homeless is breathing a sigh of relief as it reports its federal funding portal came back online Wednesday.
“The funding portal was finally restored for the Coalition for the Homeless, our partners, and other homeless services and housing organizations across the country. We had not been able to access it since Monday. We are relieved that funding for the Coalition’s successful, evidence-based programming is intact for now,” the organization said in a written statement.
Also on Wednesday the Kentucky Housing Corporation provided a list of programs it believe are exempt from the proposed federal freeze and that it includes:
- Federal Housing Administration Single Family Title I and Title II mortgage insurance programs
- Section 8 Project Based Rental Assistance (PBRA)
- Section 8 Tenant Based Rental Assistance (Voucher Programs)
State Senator Cassie Chambers Armstrong, D-Louisville, used the word “chaos” to describe the fallout from President Trump’s announced funding freeze.
“It’s really scary when you depend upon these programs, you’ve been given a promise from the government that we are going to help you and then all of a sudden with no warning it feels like it is jerked out from under you. And suddenly you’re trying to figure out how do I make this work, how do I make ends meet, what happens next.”
This week we’ve heard from congressional Republicans who support President Trump’s efforts to evaluate and changes to federal spending.
On Tuesday U.S. Representative Andy Barr, R-Lexington, said, “What we’re talking about here is a president who actually is a steward of the taxpayer dollar. I applaud President Trump for doing this. It’s the right thing to do.”