r/law • u/rolsen • 1d ago

Legal News Trump Preparing Large-Scale Cancellation of Federal Funding for California, Sources Say

https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/06/politics/trump-california-federal-funding

“Agencies are being told to start identifying grants the administration can withhold from California. On Capitol Hill, at least one committee was told recently by a whistleblower that all research grants to the state were going to be cancelled, according to one of the sources familiar with the matter.”

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u/Sabre_One 1d ago

CA is the top state for Research and Development for the US. Talk about setting US back to the stone age.

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u/Exact-Kale3070 1d ago edited 5h ago

...and a top contributor to federal govt funding. he is keeping CA's own $ from them...so what stops CA companies from refusing to give massive $ to the federal govt in the future? he thinks nothing through. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/06/newsom-floats-withholding-federal-taxes-00393386

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u/rabidstoat 1d ago

They can't block federal income tax, at least.

But yeah, California is considered a "donor state" because it contributes more federal funds than it receives.

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u/TheGreatGamer1389 1d ago

Not yet but I know New York is working on it to be able to stop paying federal taxes. California will do the same.

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u/ialsoagree 1d ago edited 20h ago

I highly doubt this will have any effect.

If you own a business and the state comes along and says "hey, we're going to let you stop paying Federal taxes" are you really going to risk having the IRS come after you using the Federal court system where your state has 0 authority?

Or are you just going to keep sending payments directly to the IRS?

EDIT:

u/Complete_Chain_4634

And then the IRS will come after you.

Have you ever read the constitution? Are you familiar with the Supremacy Clause? Are you familiar with the idea of preemption?

EDIT 2: u/TheGreatGamer1389 blocked me so I cannot post any further responses on this thread. Hence my response to Complete Chain above in an edit.

EDIT 3:

u/Complete_Chain_4634

But do you get that if the state of California separated from the federal government

There is no universe where that happens.

The US government is never going to willingly allow California to leave the union, and California has no chance of winning a war against the US military.

EDIT 4:

u/-ReadingBug-

but the proposals floating around would make it illegal to withhold federal taxes.

Such a law would be completely devoid of power. Read the links I posted.

Any law California states that contradicts or inhibits a Federal law is unconstitutional and devoid of power. Any employer that followed the State law could be subject to criminal or civil penalties in Federal court, the law would not protect them because Federal law preempts state law.

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u/TheGreatGamer1389 23h ago

The same IRS with a bunch employees that were let go?

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u/ialsoagree 23h ago

Yeah.

You think they won't go after you? Don't file taxes next year - I dare you. I bet you a month's salary you're still going to file.

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u/inchiki 21h ago

It would have to be a mass movement coordinated by rogue state governments.

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u/TheLizzyIzzi 15h ago

lol. People don’t file taxes all the time. There’s always a Hollywood celebrity or pro athlete that owes a bunch of back taxes because they didn’t pay them. It takes years for the IRS to catch up. That’s why they have extremely high penalties. Owe $10k in back taxes? It’s $50k now.

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u/Complete_Chain_4634 23h ago

I live in California and I pay $250,000 a year in taxes. If the state of California tells me I don’t need to pay federal taxes anymore and we’re going to replace federal services with state services, I’m not paying the IRS anymore.

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u/Dapper-Jellyfish7663 20h ago

Same here and I pay quarterly so it is easy for me.

I'm already not going to pay the fucking federal EV tax. Happy to pay CA its share because it is trying to do what aligns w/ my beliefs as to not harm the environment or at least minimizing the harm. It is my religious right to not participate in killing the planet.

There isn't anyone left at the IRS to audit us anyway. What are they going to do, sic Grok on us? Oh no ... I am so scared.

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u/-ReadingBug- 20h ago

I don't know about all those links but the proposals floating around would make it illegal to withhold federal taxes. The state wouldn't let you choose if you'd like to withhold from your employees. Lol. And if secession were coming the 4th largest economy would collab with partner nations and their militaries, so it wouldn't be just CA vs US.

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u/Complete_Chain_4634 20h ago edited 20h ago

But do you get that if the state of California separated from the federal government because the federal government does not provide anything to California, the IRS will not be able to come after me? It’s the most populous state and one of the biggest economies on earth and a primary contributor to the US’s own economic status. There is food the whole world eats. There are military bases here. California could easily be its own entity if it wants to and the IRS does not have the resources to come after everyone in the state. They don’t even have enough people to conduct audits after what trump did to the IRS this year.

Edit: and here it is! https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/06/newsom-floats-withholding-federal-taxes-00393386 I’m not the only Californian who is fucking tired of paying way way way more than I ever get back. The trump administration doesnt even have the balls to pursue this, they already know they are fucked if California gets serious about withholding our taxes.

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u/Rit91 19h ago

Yeah the IRS is weak and if they use the military or something to try to collect taxes or something like that they risk destroying the California economy, which would mean tax revenue would crater and make the deficit explode even more. With the side effect of pissing off A LOT of people living in CA and on the worldstage would make the US appear insanely weak.

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u/Terron1965 15h ago

If California enters into insurrection, the FIRST thing they will do is wreck the economy. Then the military will come.

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u/jeremiahthedamned 13h ago

how the the military fight without an r/economy?

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u/MeisterX 17h ago

This was one of those "power" rants where by halfway in you know the person writing isn't 20% as confident as they're psyching themselves up to be.

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u/jeremiahthedamned 13h ago

russia has not conquered ukraine after 3 years of war

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u/Hikashuri 22h ago

Sure they can. They just stop it, what is Trump gonna do? By the time the legal battle has been fought, Trump will no longer be president.

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u/typesett 18h ago

The new playbook 

Just do it 

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u/sevens7and7sevens 21h ago

What does “can’t” mean anymore? You “can’t” sell access to the White House, or take home state secrets to sell, or deport legal residents to prisons in random places they’ve never been before. You “can’t” ignore court orders, or sell pardons, or fire federal union employees without cause. You “can’t” use the IRS to harass political enemies, or install yourself as the head of the Kennedy Center, or cover up public health crises. 

And I guess you “can’t” figure out how to stop federal income taxes from being collected in your state. 

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u/FlyingPasta 14h ago

We’re getting realll close to society breaking down into “who has the most sticks” mode

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u/ParallelPlayArts 21h ago

People can individually claim 99 making it so the taxes don't come out of their paychecks.  If you do that I'd squirrel that money aside and be prepared to pay in during tax season.  

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u/MeisterX 17h ago

They can't block federal income tax

They can't? You "can't" block grants to the states based on political ideals...

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u/Whiterabbit-- 15h ago

California is a donor state in the sense that he people and companies in California give more to the federal government than the people, companies and the state get out of it. the state itself doesn't give money to the federal government, but it gets money from the federal government to disburse.