"Let's be clear, January 20th was an inauguration, not a coronation. Congress is given the power to appropriate the funding. The executive branch cannot unilaterally disregard those appropriations," Raoul said.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said President Donald Trump’s pause on federal funding is illegal and accused the administration of lying when it said programs that provide direct assistance like Medicaid would not be affected.

The Trump administration’s surprise federal funding freeze spurred discord and pushback in Illinois even as a judge temporarily blocked the effort.