"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 Attorney General Kwame Raoul on Tuesday said the Trump administration's move to freeze funding for federal assistance programs is an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers between the White House and Congress.

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.