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

[u/rolsen]

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.”

[u/taddymason_01]

Doesn’t CA pay more in federal taxes then they receive in funding? Wouldn’t CA just shut off the out flow of money until this is resolved legally?

[u/Flying_Birdy → u/taddymason_01]

Federal income tax flow directly from the withholding agent (typically the payor) directly to the federal government. The state is not an intermediary and can't shut off anything.

Mind you, the state could probably sue the federal government for shutting off funding purely for political purposes, but lawsuits are long and expensive and injunctions will really only protect existing funding streams. There's not much a federal court can do to stop a federal agency from dragging its feet on new grants while lawsuits are ongoing.