WASHINGTON 鈥� At the news that a federal judge had blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order cutting federal funds for so-called sanctuary cities on Tuesday, Takoma Park鈥檚 city manager expressed surprise and delight.
鈥淚 think that鈥檚 wonderful,鈥� said Suzanne Ludlow, who runs Takoma Park’s day-to-day operations.
The city is often referred to as 鈥淭he People鈥檚 Republic of Takoma Park鈥濃�� sometimes affectionately, sometimes not 鈥� for its unabashedly liberal stances on many issues. In February, Takoma Park held a teach-in as part of a celebration of its 30-year anniversary as a self-declared sanctuary city.
Ludlow says Trump鈥檚 push to cut federal funds for sanctuary cities 鈥� jurisdictions that don鈥檛 cooperate with federal officials on immigration enforcement 鈥� would have a direct impact on some of the services Takoma Park provides.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e not directly tied to things that you would think have to do with immigration,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e use block grants for things like sidewalks near schools, for food pantries, for senior citizen programs.鈥�
Other federal funds that help cover the cost of transportation projects would also have been affected.
The news that a federal judge dealt a blow to the Trump administration’s effort to block federal funds comes right in the middle of budget season, when Ludlow had been urging the Takoma Park commissioners to keep 鈥渇airly significant reserves鈥� in the budget, saying, 鈥淪o that in case something does happen in the future, we have some funds to keep our government running.鈥�
Ludlow says even though the Trump administration鈥檚 executive order appears stalled for now, she鈥檚 not about to suggest the city loosen its grip on its purse strings. Takoma Park may be a bastion of liberal values, but Ludlow added, chuckling, 鈥淚鈥檓 always conservative on the money side!鈥�
U.S. District Judge William Orrick referred to the president鈥檚 order as 鈥渟chizophrenic,鈥� saying it had already caused substantial confusion and fear among states and localities who would stand to lose federal funds if the order were to go into effect.
