Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) ripped into President Donald Trump’s federal funding freeze on Tuesday, calling it “stupid, buffoonish and childish.”
“Donald Trump’s reckless action cut off funding to law enforcement, farmers, child care and veterans’ health care,” Walz said Tuesday at a news conference. “While he was out golfing, he threw the country into crisis.”
On Tuesday evening, District Judge Loren AliKhan issued a temporary restraining order to stop the Trump-ordered freeze on all federal grants and loans from going into effect. But before that, Walz, who ran as Kamala Harris’ running mate on the Democratic ticket against Trump last year, said at a news conference that the president has “no idea the implications” of the freeze and said it’s right out of Project 2025 to “undermine” the U.S.
“It will not stand; it cannot stand,” Walz said.
Walz also said Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) had told him that he supports the freeze.
Walz called the freeze an “outrageous power grab” that “undermines” Minnesotans, and said he will do what he can to protect his constituents but doesn’t know if the state can make up for the $2 billion a month being “held illegally” by the Trump administration.
“I know you have a lot of questions; I have a lot of questions because not one damn person thought this through,” Walz said.
Later on Tuesday, Walz said on “The Rachel Maddow Show” that people shouldn’t be surprised by the freeze because it was laid out in Project 2025, a playbook written by Trump loyalists to guide the actions of his new administration. He also called out Republican governors, saying, “Shame on you” for staying silent about the freeze.
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“We’re going to need some courage,” Walz said. “This is a long fight. … They want to destroy the federal government.”