Dem lawmakers in blue states have a new plan to fight back against Trump

29 June

President Donald Trump signs executive orders alongside Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and wounded warriors in the Oval Office, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)

Democratic lawmakers in Connecticut, Maryland, New York, and Wisconsin are unveiling a novel, aggressive response to President Donald Trump’s moves to freeze or withhold federal funding: state-level bills that would allow them to withhold their own payments to Washington, NBC reported Sunday.

The first-of-their-kind proposals would permit states to suspend payments — including payroll tax withholdings and state grants to the federal government — if Trump’s administration is found to be unlawfully delaying or withholding funds owed by the federal government.

These proposals remain far from becoming law, and legal scholars warn they’ll encounter significant challenges.

“Trump is illegally withholding funds that have been previously approved,” Maryland House Majority Leader David Moon told NBC. “Without these funds, we are going to see Maryland residents severely harmed — we needed more options on the table for how Maryland could respond and protect its residents," Moon added.

The Maryland lawmaker likened the bills to a “collections” of effort against a “deadbeat debtor,” aiming not only to recover funds but to trigger an audit of federal obligations, per the report.

Connecticut State Senator Matt Lesser is pursuing a similar amendment that would let his state retain payroll taxes — in the event federal aid, such as Medicaid, is frozen in defiance of court orders.

In Wisconsin, Democratic Rep. Renuka Mayadev echoed the sentiment: “We’ve seen the Trump administration is willfully breaking the law by holding back federal funds to which Wisconsinites are legally entitled. So these bills are really about providing for a legal remedy and protecting Wisconsinites,” she told NBC.

Beyond state legislation, Democrats are also pursuing multistate lawsuits. Recent days have seen challenges from 20-plus state attorneys general and cities accusing Trump’s administration of politically motivated funding freezes, notably around grants for DEI programs and climate initiatives.

With courts already blocking some freezes — including for NIH research and EV infrastructure—Democrats view both legal and legislative approaches as a necessary double-barrel defense.

However, they acknowledge a risk: retaliation by Trump.

“There’s certainly a risk of retaliation by the White House,” admitted Moon, acknowledging that the federal government controls far bigger budgets than any state.

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