Gov. Josh Shapiro, D-Penn., right, announced that $2.1 billion in federal funds had been unfrozen after suing the Trump administration. (AP Images)
Shapiro said his directness earned Pennsylvania access to the funds "duly owed to us."
"I was very direct with them. They were very responsive to me. And as a result, Pennsylvania now has what is duly owed to us," Shapiro added.
The White House Office of Management and Budget directed agencies to halt federal funding on Jan. 27 in compliance with Trump's executive orders. Federal judges had issued a temporary restraining order to block the funding freeze ahead of Shapiro's lawsuit, but only states with litigation against the Trump administration were able to access the unfrozen funds.
JUDICIAL PUSHBACK ON TRUMP 'HURTING AMERICAN PEOPLE,' SAYS GOP REP LEADING IMPEACHMENT CHARGE
President Donald Trump walks to the Residence after arriving at the White House on Feb. 22, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Tierney L. Cross/Getty Images)
"It is my job to protect Pennsylvania's interests, and I will use every tool at my disposal, from legal action to my direct engagement, to make sure that Pennsylvanians are protected, and that the funds Pennsylvanians rely on every day, the funds that Pennsylvanians pay in federal taxes make their way back to our Commonwealth, and we receive every federal dollar that we are owed," Shapiro said.
The legal dance of Trump’s executive actions is on full display in Shapiro’s litigation as the governor said suing the Trump administration was the only way to unfreeze Pennsylvania’s federal funds. Shapiro’s legal win is the latest in ongoing litigation between the state and federal governments.
During the Governor's Working Session at the White House on Friday, when Shapiro told senior Trump officials to restore his state’s federal funding, Gov. Janet Mills, D-Maine, was telling Trump, "We’ll see you in court."
President Donald Trump holds up a memorandum he signed ordering an immediate assessment of aviation safety and ordering an elevation of what he called "competence" over "DEI" in the Oval Office at the White House on Jan. 30, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Trump told Mills, in a moment NGA Vice Chairman Kevin Stitt, R-Okla., described as "uncomfortable," that Maine would not receive any federal funding if she did not comply with his executive order to prevent transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports.
Mills said in a statement that Maine would "not be intimidated by the president’s threats."
"If the president attempts to unilaterally deprive Maine school children of the benefit of federal funding, my administration and the attorney general will take all appropriate and necessary legal action to restore that funding and the academic opportunity it provides," Mills added.
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As Trump continues to implement part of his agenda through executive action, Democrats are relying on federal litigation to challenge the Trump administration’s executive authority, that many call a "constitutional crisis."
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Pennsylvania's unfrozen federal funds.
Deirdre Heavey is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/duly-owed-us-blue-state-governor-says-2-1b-federal-funding-restored-after-suing-trump-admin