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Major Topics
Efforts by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to freeze the disbursement of nearly all federal funding, including funding delivered in fulfillment of trust and treaty obligations, with disastrous consequences for Indian Country.
Current Status
Two federal courts issued preliminary injunctions that blocked OMB’s efforts to implement the funding freeze, finding the policy likely violated the Administrative Procedure Act. OMB has appealed those orders. Appellate briefing is ongoing in the case in which a Tribal amicus brief has now been filed, originally brought by a group of non-profits, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. A decision is forthcoming in a parallel case, brought by a group of states (New York v. Trump), where oral argument was held on November 18, 2025, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
Background
On January 27, 2025, OMB issued a memorandum (M-25-13) directing federal agencies to pause the disbursement of nearly all federal funding, pending review for compliance with the Trump Administration’s policy priorities. Two lawsuits prevented the funding freeze from officially taking permanent effect, but not without widespread confusion and downstream consequences set off by the initial freeze. The courts have so far maintained the preliminary relief they each granted, which the Administration has appealed in both cases. While the courts have prevented the worst of the potential damage and many agencies have since confirmed that Tribal Nations and Tribal organizations are distinct from other federal funding recipients, Indian Country’s story has largely been left untold.
Tribal Amicus Brief
The Tribal org amicus brief emphasizes the United States’ trust and treaty obligations to provide services and associated funding to Tribal Nations and Tribal communities, and it highlights the unique and outsized harms to Indian Country if the funding freeze or a similar policy were to be reinstated.
USET Interest and Involvement
USET SPF consulted on the development of the Tribal org amicus brief, which was drafted by the Native American Rights Fund (NARF). NARF’s announcement regarding the brief is available here. USET SPF joined seven other Tribal organizations in signing onto the brief: the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), the National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA), the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center (NWIRC), the Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center (AKNWRC), the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (NATHPO), the California Tribal Chairpersons Association (CTCA), and the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI). USET SPF has a strong interest in ensuring the United States delivers on its trust and treaty obligations, including in educating the federal courts and the public about those obligations and the unique implications of generally applicable federal policies on Indian Country. While Indian Country may not have been a direct or intended target of the funding freeze, the policy’s consequences highlight the dangers of federal decisions made without considering Tribal interests.
Case information
National Council of Nonprofits v. Office of Management & Budget, No. 25-5148, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (on appeal from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia).
For more information, please contact Liz Malerba, USET SPF Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs, Katie Klass, USET SPF General Counsel, or Taylour Boboltz, USET SPF Staff Attorney.
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