How will the Trump administration’s federal grant pause affect Fort Worth city programs?
The Fort Worth City Council is trying to figure out how a temporary pause in federal grants by the Trump Administration will affect the city.
The administration planned to pause all federal loans and grants to ensure they comply with the slew of executive orders signed during the first week-and-a-half of Trump’s presidency, according to a memo from the Office of Management and Budget.
A federal judge temporarily blocked a portion of the pause minutes before it was scheduled to go into effect, CNN reported late Tuesday.
The network also reported that a new OMB memo said the freeze is not across the board. It targets executive orders that address immigration, foreign aid, climate and energy, DEI initiatives, gender identity and abortion.
“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,” said acting OMB director Matthew Vaeth in the memo.
Mayor Pro Tem Gyna Bivens asked the city’s legal department during the Jan. 28 council meeting to review all grant funded programs that might be impacted by the pause.
Fort Worth has been awarded roughly $243 million in federal grants since 2019, according to the U.S. government. The majority of that funding is from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which has been used for programs to support affordable housing and help people recover from the 2021 winter freeze.
While the president’s nominee for HUD secretary, Richardson-native Scott Turner, is a Texan, the city needs to pay close attention to how these federal grants will be impacted by the new administration, Bivens said.
“Hopefully it won’t affect day-to-day operations,” said District 4 council member Charlie Lauersdorf. “Anytime the federal government gets involved in anything, it’s never a quick and easy process.”
It’s not uncommon for new administrations to want to review programs and spending priorities after coming into office, said District 3 council member Michael Crain.
Even at the city level, newly elected officials see what’s working, what’s not working, and may prioritize different things after coming into office, he said.
“Overall, I think I’m not pessimistic about it, “ Crain said, “We should evaluate programs on a continual routine basis to understand if they’re being effective or not.”
He added that as chair of the city council’s intergovernmental affairs committee, he would work with the city’s federal partners to ensure programs with committed dollars get funding.
Mayor Mattie Parker declined to comment Tuesday citing the uncertainty about the funding pause.
District 2 council member Carlos Flores, whose district includes Panther Island, said in a text message that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers won’t be affected by the pause. The corps is responsible for the flood control portion of the project, called Central City, which will create a manmade island north of downtown by connecting two sections of the Trinity River.
The project was viewed skeptically by Trump’s first White House budget director, Mick Mulvaney.
“With the executive order coming out today, we are still doing our due diligence, but don’t foresee this impacting the Central City Flood Control Project,” said Matt Oliver, a project spokesperson for the Tarrant Regional Water District. He added that the water district will continue to work with the Corps to make sure construction of the bypass channel remains on schedule.
Representatives for the Army Corps did immediately not respond to a call from the Star-Telegram seeking comment.
State attorneys general in New York, California, Massachusetts, Illinois, Rhode Island and New Jersey are challenging the freeze in court to block Trump from withholding the funds.
“The city is aware of the Trump Administration’s freeze on all federal grants and loans that will go into effect later today and the request for injunction to stop the freeze,” a spokesperson for the city’s legal department said in an email to the Star-Telegram. “We are awaiting the results of the request for the injunction and are assessing the impact of the freeze on City programming in the event an injunction is not issued.”
This story was originally published January 28, 2025 at 4:03 PM.
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