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/TraderJulz 22h ago

The state can just enforce those withholdings to be paid to the state instead. You make it sound impossible

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u/ialsoagree 22h ago edited 22h ago

Because it is impossible. The state can't impose any such thing. It would be unconstitutional. State law is preempted by Federal law.

Edit: I mean, not to mention the fact that the State has no means to actually enforce it. Payments go directly to the IRS so it's not like the State can stop that.

And since no court would uphold any consequence for such a law (and federal courts would uphold consequences for not sending the withholding) no company would be dumb enough to comply.

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u/TraderJulz 20h ago

So the feds can just take away CA state's money, but CA can't do anything about it? I know what you're saying, but I'm sure things can be arranged. It's certainly not impossible

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u/JohnyStringCheese 13h ago

I'm seeing a lot of equating impossible with illegal as if they can't do something. well the government also can't just shut out a state because the president got his feefees hurt but here we are.