An order from President Donald Trump to freeze federal funding has been paused by a judge, but nonprofits and advocacy groups in Massachusetts are continuing to brace for the potential impact.
The order called on all federal agencies to halt funding temporarily so the Trump administration can review what is necessary and what's not.
It was supposed to take effect at 5 p.m. Tuesday, but U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan extended the deadline to Monday.
"This is really bad," said Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey. "It's going to cut off funding for food, for health care, transportation, important infrastructure projects in our state. It's going to cost jobs."
Organizations in Massachusetts and across the country are bracing for President Donald Trump's plan to freeze funding.
Healey and other Bay State officials are sounding an alarm as federal funding for an array of programs could soon be on the chopping block.
"Just yesterday, the commonwealth tried to draw almost $40 million from Medicaid and haven't received the payment yet," said Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, who announced a joint lawsuit with other attorneys general against the Trump administration.
At a Town Hall in Peabody Tuesday night, Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Massachusetts, said people need to brace for chaos.
"There will be some brutal cuts this administration has promised, and there are a lot of people that are going to get hurt by the Trump administration," he said.
The Office of Management and Budget issued a memorandum Monday ordering federal agencies to pause all disbursement of financial assistance and review those funds to make sure they align with the president's priorities and executive orders, including inflation reduction investments and the boosting of the energy sector and manufacturing.
"He's looking to make sure that the taxpayers' dollars, in the in the tune of trillions of dollars, are not being wasted here," said Massachusetts conservative podcaster and Trump supporter Jon Fetherston.
The Trump administration said the government spent $3 trillion last year in federal financial assistance, and that it is seeking to cut funding to DEI, gut the green new deal, and other programs.
"The use of federal 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 OMB memo read.
"Assistance that is going directly to individuals will not be impacted by this pause," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a press briefing on Tuesday.
"Diversity, equity and inclusion is not through some game. It's not musical chairs," said Colette Phillips, who runs her own communications company.
Phillips has long advocated for an equal opportunity in corporations.
"This is the time for allies, for white corporate allies and CEOs, to really have the courage to stand up," she said.
Nonprofits in the Bay State see devastating consequences, including climate groups and immigration advocates.
"People are going to lose jobs, they're going to see their energy bills go up, they're going to see their air pollution go up, because all of these critical programs are being cut or frozen," said Boston Climate Action Network Executive Director Hassann Farooqi.
"The federal funding that we've received in recent years has been to assist individuals in applying for their citizenship. There's been funding through Citizenship and Immigration Services for that purpose," said MIRA Coalition Executive Director Elizabeth Sweet. "There are so many different ways that organizations that have been serving immigrants here in our communities are going to be losing critical resources."
"This is incredibly destructive," said Margaret Brennan, CEO of North Shore Community Health, which provides everything from primary care to substance use programs for thousands of people.
About 24% of the payroll is dependent on the federal government, Brennan said.
"We can afford to float two to three payrolls, and then we'll be all out of our operating cash," she said.
When North Shore Community Health staff logged in to the nonprofit bank account Tuesday, they were denied access.
If the issue is not resolved, and money is held back, they'd have to cut back on staff and services.
"These are real human beings out here who are being affected by people in DC who don't seem to have any sense that anything real is happening on the ground," said Brennan. "I'm pleading to their humanity to put a stop to this."
Others, like Fetherston, welcome the sweeping changes.
"This is how President Trump operates," he said. "He wants to make sure that his policies align with the spending priorities that the American public mandated."
Leavitt said the issues with Medicaid federal payments were caused by a website outage that is expected to be fixed soon.
Meanwhile, programs like Social Security, Medicaid and Head Start are not being impacted by this, she said.
Once the agencies turn in their findings, the government could make exceptions on a case-by-case basis.