WA leaders tell Trump to ‘follow the damn law,’ vow to shield state

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson on Thursday reiterated his vows to shield the state from “chaos” coming from the Trump administration, including the freezing of congressionally approved federal funds.

At a news conference, flanked by more than 20 other state officials, Ferguson said $162 million in federal money remains inaccessible, most of it in solar power grants.

Ferguson said that money was “frozen on Monday, then unfrozen, but refrozen this morning” in an example of the whipsaw nature of Trump’s orders trying to cut vast swaths of federal spending, many of which have been blocked at least temporarily by courts.

“I want to be very clear, we are continuing to fight for those funds,” he said.

Ferguson did not unveil new policies or other concrete actions Thursday but said he will stand firm in defending Washington’s policies protecting transgender rights, fighting climate change and prohibiting local police from aiding in mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.

“I promised to work with President Trump where I can and to stand up to him when we must. Unfortunately, President Trump is showing very little inclination in working with states that do not agree with his worldview,” Ferguson said.

Among the state officials at Ferguson’s side during the news conference was Attorney General Nick Brown, who was more blunt in his central message to Trump.

“Follow the damn law,” Brown said. “It’s not that hard, but time and time again, this president has exhibited his disdain for the U.S. Constitution.”

The state has already sued the Trump administration over the president’s order seeking to end birthright citizenship, winning an early order from a federal judge who blocked the order as “blatantly unconstitutional.”

Washington also sued over an executive order that cuts off federal funding for pediatric gender-affirming care.

Ferguson said Washington will not bow to Trump’s attacks on transgender people because “gender dysphoria” is a medical diagnosis and “we will not treat health care like a political football.”

Similarly, he said the state will not aid in mass deportations of undocumented immigrants by sharing nonpublic information about a person’s immigration status. However, Ferguson said he agreed with Trump on efforts to deal with undocumented immigrants who have been convicted of serious felonies.

Despite pressure from “groups that I respect,” Ferguson said he would not support efforts to bar the state Department of Corrections from sharing information on such people with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“My direction is that the Department of Corrections continue to lawfully work with federal immigration authorities regarding those individuals,” he said.

Thursday’s appearance marked a rare news conference for Ferguson, who has so far avoided regular media availabilities to discuss legislation and other news — in a marked departure from past governors.

The new governor on Thursday took several questions from reporters but mostly avoided discussing the state budget and ongoing legislative session, keeping the focus on Trump and the White House’s actions affecting the state.

Ferguson, who has ordered most state agencies to come up with 6% budget cuts due to a projected $10 billion-plus four-year budget shortfall, said he will hold a news conference in the final week of February to talk about the budget. The state received about $27 billion in federal funding in the last fiscal year — about one-third of the state budget, he said Thursday.

In a separate news conference earlier this week, Secretary of State Steve Hobbs also expressed concern about the Trump administration’s recent spending cut decisions.

Hobbs urged state lawmakers to fund election security programs in the state, citing the president’s order placing federal cybersecurity staff on administrative leave.

“This abrupt move has left state and local elections officials wondering: ‘Who can we depend on to support elections security now?’ Especially in light of the growing threats from cyber criminals and nation-state actors,” Hobbs told reporters in a news conference Wednesday.

Seattle Times staff reporter Shauna Sowersby contributed to this report.

Jim Brunner: 206-515-5628 or jbrunner@seattletimes.com. Seattle Times political reporter Jim Brunner covers state, local and regional politics.