(CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker addressed Illinoisans Tuesday afternoon about a federal funding freeze that would disrupt critical programs across the state. An administrative stay was issued just minutes before the freeze was set to take effect, coinciding with the start of Pritzker’s press conference.

The governor highlighted the potential impact on programs including Head Start, Medicaid, LIHEAP, the unemployment system, Meals on Wheels, and veterans’ services.

“Donald Trump’s administration is lying to you,” Pritzker said. “The White House’s attempt to walk back what they did today does not match what we saw on the ground. They assured us that Medicaid would not be affected. That was a lie.”

Pritzker explained that at 7:42 p.m. Monday night, his office saw a memo from the White House announcing a pause on federal funding. By Tuesday morning, Illinois and other states, he said, were unable to access “critical federal funding” through the Medicaid funding portal.

“The White House assured us that Head Start would not be affected. That was a lie,” Pritzker said. “Providers across the state experienced outages, and some were unable to make their payroll.”

Pritzker also called out the administration’s explanation. “The administration would like us to believe that these were just coincidental website outages,” he said.

Several states reported similar issues with Medicaid funding portals. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt acknowledged the service interruptions, saying on social media Tuesday that systems were expected to “be back online shortly” without affecting payments.

Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton added her criticism. “There is no hate in Illinois’ heart. I cannot say the same for the White House’s,” she said. “Elections have consequences, and they’re playing out right before your very eyes.”