President Donald Trump’s order to freeze trillions of dollars in federal funding for grants, loans and other aid Monday could wreak havoc on vital services provided by Comal County and the New Braunfels and Canyon Lake-area nonprofits who rely on that money.
“If this moves forward, the impact will deepen and deepen,” said McKenna Foundation Chief Executive Officer Alice Jewell. “My prayer is that somebody would intervene.”
That person was U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan, who issued an administrative stay this afternoon just minutes before Trump’s order, in the form of a memo from the Office of Management and Budget, was set to go into effect.
“It seems like the federal government currently doesn’t actually know the full extent of the programs that are going to be subject to the pause,” she said.
The judge’s ruling expires Monday, Feb. 3.
To review a 51-page spreadsheet of the more than 2,000 programs included in what legal experts around the country are calling Trump’s illegal and unconstitutional order, click here.
In 1975 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the president cannot overrule Congress by “impounding” funding.
Local Impact
Comal County Pct. 1 Commissioner Doug Leecock, who represents Canyon Lake, said he spoke with County Judge Sherman Krause about the freeze.
“The grants administration folks are working through the news,” he said. “As I said, clarifications will need to take place.”
Pct. 4 Commissioner Jen Crownover, who also represents Canyon Lake on Commissioners Court, said county government relies on grant funding, especially for law enforcement and many Public Health Department programs.
Thursday, Commissioners Court will discuss and consider approval for the Sequential Intercept Model Implementation Grant (SIG) through the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to Hill Country Mental Health and Mental Retardation Center.
Programs Affected
Not included in Monday’s pause are Medicare, Social Security and any grants and loans provided to individuals.
The Trump administration said Medicaid, which provides health insurance for more than 70 million low-income people, is not affected by the order. However, Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat, said his staff confirmed that, at least temporarily, Medicaid portals were down in all 50 states.
Meals on Wheels, Head Start, cancer-research initiatives, research funding to universities including STEM research and student access initiatives, Women Infants and Children (WIC), aid for disaster victims, housing for low-income farm workers and residents, foreign aid, water-pollution monitoring, early childhood education, and Title I funding for schools with low-income students are just some of the programs, nationwide that could go dark next Monday.
CRRC of Canyon Lake, the largest nonprofit in the Canyon Lake area, did not immediately respond to a question about whether or not it could provide Meals on Wheels for seniors over the next two weeks.
The charity also operates a food pantry and offers crisis assistance, durable medical equipment, wellness checkups and more to the community.
Its Recreation Center on Mabel Jones Drive hosts healthy recreational activities for the community.
From 2009-2023, the McKenna Foundation awarded $28,620,754 in lifetime grants to nonprofits which provide food and housing, support kids and families, and provide wellness services. Over 40 New Braunfels nonprofits are listed on its website.
Its Annual Grant Report 2023 says the foundation committed $2,122,852 in funding to serve 72,133 people in the New Braunfels community.
To learn more about the organizations the McKenna Foundation serves, click here.
