WSDOT reports $102.2 million has been frozen for hydrogen fueling and EV chargers across the state.
The Washington Department of Commerce says its access to funding for the Solar for All program has been frozen as well, though it isn鈥檛 clear at this time how much funding is held up.
鈥淭hese stories are popping up all across the country,鈥� said Rep. Adam Smith, 鈥淚t is a naked power grab that is challenging our constitution quite frankly.鈥�
Smith, a Democrat representing the ninth district containing Renton, Federal Way, Kent and other communities, points to Congress鈥� power of the purse. Much, if not all of the funding, was allocated by the bipartisan Infrastructure and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, huge spending laws that were passed during the Biden White House.
鈥淐ongress approved the spending. It鈥檚 illegal to stop now.鈥�
鈥淓ven after the Court ruled you couldn鈥檛 stop it, it was like a week ago for domestic programs, they鈥檝e still stopped it. They are ignoring a court ruling.鈥� Smith said.
The issue with frozen and inaccessible funding represents the few options Democrats have in stopping the Trump White House, and lately Elon Musk in the Department of Government Efficiency, from running roughshod with their agenda.
For example, one strategy has been legal challenges to executive orders and other actions.聽聽are suing the Trump Administration over Musk鈥檚 access to Treasury Department data that contain social security numbers, bank accounts, and other sensitive data of Americans. Smith said there was hesitation, though, in picking that fight.
鈥淚t seems like Donald Trump and Elon Musk really want to do is. They want to get to the point where they can make decisions unchallenged,鈥� Smith said.
鈥淸Trump] gave Elon Musk this power to go in and look at this information,鈥� Smith said, 鈥淚s that per se illegal? Now, what Elon Musk is going to to wind up doing with that information could certainly be illegal, but Donald Trump is President, he picked Elon Musk and said, go look at this. So is it illegal? I don鈥檛 know. It is horrifying.鈥�
Two other strategies Democrats have are messaging and trying to convince their Republican allies. Smith sees the freezing of USAID and the attempted firing () of thousands of USAID workers as a good example.
USAID is part of what is known as American 鈥淪oft Power鈥� that builds relationships with other nations through aid, grants, and other finances that help foster relationships with the United States. Smith says he鈥檚 trying to appeal to Republicans that this limiting aid, limits the nation鈥檚 influence and allies.
鈥淚 hope the United States of America hasn鈥檛 become the type of country where, 鈥楽crew you, if it鈥檚 in my best interest, I鈥檓 not going to live up to the commitment I made.鈥� We made commitments. People are going to starve to death because we鈥檙e breaking those contracts and commitments.鈥� Smith said.
鈥淚t pushes [nations] towards Russia and China and the reason that鈥檚 a problem is because China and Russia want to use their autocratic power to froce their way of looking at the world on other people and that will eventually undermine our markets.鈥� he continued.
