Murray Blasts Trump for Blocking Digital Equity Grants
Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Patty Murray, D-Wash., criticized President Donald Trump on Wednesday for blocking Digital Equity Act funding last week (see 2505090051). Two top Senate Commerce Committee Democrats pressed Commerce Department general counsel nominee Pierre Gentin on the matter during his Tuesday confirmation hearing (see 2505130072).
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“Needless to say, the president cannot overrule a law,” Murray said during a webcast news conference. “And certainly not through a tweet.” All it would take for Trump to back down is “for Republicans to join us and speak up for their states,” she said. States could also sue the Trump administration to unblock the grants, but congressional GOP pushback would be “a whole lot cheaper and easier.”
Washington State Broadband Office Director Aaron Wheeler said during the news conference that losing the state’s $15.9 million in digital equity funding would “severely hinder our efforts to close the digital divide.” He suggested that the “long-term costs of security breaches, cyber theft, and lost public trust [caused by blocking the grants] will outweigh any short-term budget savings.”