The County of Santa Clara is part of a coalition of jurisdictions taking legal action amidst the Trump Administration’s early efforts to massively cut federal spending. But the uncertainty of future federal funding is already having an impact locally.
The Trump Administration’s goal to slash $2 trillion in federal spending is anticipated to come at great cost to social services in the County, which relies on federal funding for about a third of its $12 billion budget.
Santa Clara County Office of Education already began layoffs, in part citing reductions and expirations of several state and federal grants. Some staff at Head Start, which provides early childhood education, received layoff notices on March 15 due to the uncertainty of future federal funding, according to San Jose Spotlight. That uncertainty only deepened Thursday after President Trump signed an executive order aimed at eliminating the U.S. Department of Education.
“Unless there is certainty from the federal government that applicable grants will be renewed, SCCOE and other agencies must do layoffs in order to ensure fiscal solvency,” district officials stated.
Along with education, massive cuts to healthcare impacting the community’s most vulnerable are of concern. Local leaders this week denounced the possibility of cuts to Medicaid, which in California is called Medi-Cal.
“Medicaid is the single largest source of federal revenue for Santa Clara County, representing about $1.9 billion in funding received by the County this year alone,” said County Executive James R. Williams.
If the cuts are realized, Williams expects “grave challenges” for the operation of three public hospitals and 14 healthcare clinics serving thousands of people, not including funding for behavioral health services.
Santa Clara County officials are also fighting against the cuts due to their potential to degrade public safety. This week the County joined multiple other sanctuary jurisdictions, including San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Minneapolis, Seattle and New Haven, in seeking a legal injunction to prevent the Trump Administration’s attempts to cut federal funding to jurisdictions that refuse to assist in federal immigration enforcement. Sanctuary laws seek to increase public safety by enabling undocumented residents to come forward and report crimes to police without fear of deportation.
“The Trump Administration is putting the safety of millions of Americans at risk by threatening to withhold critical funding from local governments,” said Santa Clara County Counsel Tony LoPresti. “We are asserting the well-established constitutional right of local governments to use local resources for local priorities. We will not stand idly by while the Federal Administration attempts to bully counties and cities out of implementing policies that have worked for decades to advance community well-being and public safety.”