Washington D.C. — U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) joined more than 150 House Democrats in sending a letter to the Trump Administration after President Trump issued an executive order on his first day in office that could pause all disbursements of Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding immediately. Neither the vaguely worded executive order nor a follow-up memorandum from Trump's Office of Management and Budget Acting Director Matthew Vaeth and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett clarify which projects, programs, and activities are frozen. The letter urges the Trump Administration to disclose a full list of these frozen initiatives. 

“This executive order is a source of great anxiety for communities and businesses across the country that use this funding to build new roads, fix bridges, replace lead pipes, expand broadband access, strengthen infrastructure against natural disasters, and much more,” the Members wrote. “Work is already underway on tens of thousands of projects in both the public and private sector, but their completion depends on these funds, which were already approved by Congress and enacted into law.”

The full text of the letter can be found here and below, as well as the full list of signers:

Dear Directors Vaeth and Hassett,

We write to request an itemized list of programs, projects, and activities that have been put on hold because of President Trump’s January 20, 2025, executive order pausing the disbursement of funds included in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). 

Section 7 of the order states that this pause goes into effect “immediately” for these two laws, “including but not limited to funds for electric vehicle charging stations made available through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program and the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program...” This vague language has sweeping implications, potentially pausing everything from active highway and bridge construction projects to broadband and water infrastructure expansions that received IIJA funding.

A day after President Trump issued the executive order, you followed up with a memorandum that did little to clarify exactly which projects and programs the executive order paused. In the memorandum, you wrote, “this pause only applies to funds supporting programs, projects, or activities that may be implicated by the policy established in Section 2 of the order.” Section 2 of the order, however, provides only a series of broad, subjective policy objectives, rather than detailed guidelines specifying which projects ought to be frozen. Additionally, your memorandum states that “agency heads may disburse funds as they deem necessary after consulting with the Office of Management and Budget.” 

Given the “immediate” nature of this pause and OMB’s role in overseeing further disbursements, OMB must have a list of which programs are currently receiving disbursements and which are frozen. We ask that you be transparent with the American people and make this information available immediately. 

This executive order is a source of great anxiety for communities and businesses across the country that use this funding to build new roads, fix bridges, replace lead pipes, expand broadband access, strengthen infrastructure against natural disasters, and much more. Work is already underway on tens of thousands of projects in both the public and private sector, but their completion depends on these funds, which were already approved by Congress and enacted into law.

As a businessman, President Trump ought to know that delaying an ongoing construction project comes at an immense dollar price. As a president, he ought to know that delaying these projects needlessly makes our government less efficient.

We urge you to clarify what specific funds this Administration is withholding unconstitutionally—funds that our laws require be invested in American communities. The American people deserve an answer, and if President Trump’s repeated claims that he cares about government transparency were honest, you will provide them with one. 

Signers include: 

Rep. Alma Adams; Gabe Amo; Yassamin Ansari; Jake Auchincloss; Becca Balint; Nanette Barragán; Joyce Beatty; Ami Bera; Donald Beyer; Suzanne Bonamici; Julia Brownley; Shontel Brown; Nikki Budzinski; Salud Carbajal; Troy Carter; André Carson; Greg Casar; Ed Case; Sean Casten; Kathy Castor; Joaquin Castro; Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick; Judy Chu; Yvette Clarke; Emanuel Cleaver; Steve Cohen; Gerald Connolly; Jim Costa; Joe Courtney; Angie Craig; Jasmine Crockett; Jason Crow; Sharice Davids; Danny Davis; Diana DeGette; Rosa DeLauro; Suzan DelBene; Christopher Deluzio; Mark DeSaulnier; Maxine Dexter; Debbie Dingell; Sarah Elfreth; Veronica Escobar;  Adriano Espaillat; Shomari Figures; Lizzie Fletcher; Bill Foster; Valerie Foushee; Laura Friedman; Maxwell Frost; John Garamendi; Jesús García; Robert Garcia; Sylvia Garcia; Daniel Goldman; Jimmy Gomez; Vicente Gonzalez; Maggie Goodlander; Josh Gottheimer; Al Green; Raúl Grijalva; Pablo Hernández; Jim Himes; Steven Horsford; Chrissy Houlahan; Jared Huffman; Glenn Ivey; Jonathan Jackson; Pramila Jayapal; Henry Johnson; Julie Johnson; Sydney Kamlager-Dove; Marcy Kaptur; William Keating; Robin Kelly; Tim Kennedy; Ro Khanna; Raja Krishnamoorthi; John Larson; George Latimer; Summer Lee; Susie Lee; Teresa Leger Fernandez; Zoe Lofgren; Stephen Lynch; Seth Magaziner; Doris Matsui; Sarah McBride; April McClain Delaney; Jennifer McClellan; Betty McCollum; Kristen McDonald Rivet; Jim McGovern; LaMonica McIver; Robert Menendez; Grace Meng; Gwen Moore; Joseph Morelle; Jared Moskowitz; Seth Moulton; Frank Mrvan; Kevin Mullin; Joe Neguse; Donald Norcross; Eleanor Holmes Norton; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; Johnny Olszewski; Ilhan Omar; Frank Pallone; Jimmy Panetta; Chris Pappas; Scott Peters; Chellie Pingree; Mark Pocan; Nellie Pou; Mike Quigley; Delia Ramirez; Jamie Raskin; Deborah Ross; Patrick Ryan; Andrea Salinas; Linda Sánchez; Mary Gay Scanlon; Jan Schakowsky; Brad Schneider; Hillary Scholten; Bobby Scott; Terri Sewell; Mikie Sherrill; Lateefah Simon; Adam Smith; Melanie Stansbury; Greg Stanton; Haley Stevens; Marilyn Strickland; Suhas Subramanyam; Eric Swalwell; Mark Takano; Shri Thanedar; Bennie Thompson; Mike Thompson; Dina Titus; Jill Tokuda; Paul Tonko; Norma Torres; Lori Trahan; Sylvester Turner; Lauren Underwood; Juan Vargas; Nydia Velázquez; Eugene Vindman; Debbie Wasserman Schultz; Maxine Waters; Bonnie Watson Coleman.

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