'Worried and confused': GOP senators say their phones are blowing up over Trump freeze

WASHINGTON — Republicans confessed their own constituents are concerned after President Donald Trump issued a total freeze across all government spending.

Raw Story spoke to Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) before the White House tried to retract its letter from the Office of Management and Budget announcing the freeze.

She let out a deep sigh and said she heard about the funding freeze not only from Republican mayors but "mayors all over."

"We had a meeting with our staff on the Indian Affairs Committee so — very concerned about some of the tribal programs," she said, adding they're "hearing from our communities, hearing from our non-profits — non-profits are really quite anxious. So, yeah, yesterday was a really challenging day because a lot of people are anxious and concerned with no answers and they called us. And we had to share that we don't have any answers for them right now."

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Murkowski said her office is working to be responsive, but there is simply no information to help.

Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) said that she turned to Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) on Tuesday, telling him, "A lot of this stuff is your stuff."

She said her office phones were ringing too from Republican mayors and town supervisors, and she has watched as Republican Senators "huddle" over the matter.

Murkowski noted that the court decision "made things a little bit easier," referencing litigation that halted the freeze on Tuesday afternoon. The judge issued a restraining order to prevent the OMB pause from taking effect on Wednesday.

"I met first thing this morning with the Head Start folks from Alaska, and of course, Head Start was one of those to be not touched. Yesterday, no one was able to access the portal," Murkowski also said. "They basically think the whole thing crashed. Last evening, about 10 o'clock, two of them were able to get into the portal and get the funds released. So, they woke up this morning saying we're going to be able to make it. Now, their programs are going to be fine, but they're concerned about the families who access their programs and what that might mean."

Slotkin also pointed out that the freeze "is a real under-cutting of our power." She said that if the House and Senate appropriations process isn't needed, "What are we here for?"

She hoped Republicans "would, at least privately, push back" against the administration.

Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) said after OMB walked back the memo that the ordeal "caused alarm bordering on chaos" back home in his state.

At the same time, he remarked that if the goal was to identify cost-saving measures, it would only work to do the opposite. Not only have courts blocked the measure, but the government is now spending money on litigation to fight to support Trump.

“This caused a lot of chaos and waste in the name of finding some savings," said Coons.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) dismissed concerns that might come in from his constituents back home, saying it was only a "temporary pause."

"Nothing that's going to run afoul of the Impoundment Control Act," he insisted.

According to Lawfare, the law "limits the executive branch’s authority to decline to spend or commit to spending funds that Congress has appropriated."

Lee went on to say he "has issues with the Impoundment Control Act" and that it would be "problematic for an incoming president not to undertake something like that."

He refused to answer questions on whether the White House bungled the move.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), a hardliner against federal spending, said he believes there is "some latitude" in the Impoundment Control Act. "If you forever hold money, that's probably not constitutional."

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had one of her tweets cited in court on Wednesday saying that OMB rescinded the memo, not the actual funding freeze. The judge used that tweet to say it's only a distinction without a difference "based on comments by the president’s press secretary.”