Trump order to freeze federal grants blocked by judge

AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

Update: Jan. 28, 5:38 p.m. ET

By Chris Megerian
Associated Press

WASHINGTON — A federal judge has temporarily blocked a Trump administration freeze on federal grants and loans that could total trillions of dollars.

The order from U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan came minutes before the funding freeze was scheduled to go into effect. It lasts until Monday afternoon and applies only to existing programs.

Administration officials said the decision to halt loans and grants was necessary to ensure that spending complies with Trump’s recent executive orders.

The White House had planned to start the pause as they begin an across-the-board ideological review of federal spending.

Trump administration officials said programs that provide direct assistance to Americans would not be affected, such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, student loans and food stamps. They also defended the funding pause, saying Trump was following through on his promise to turn Washington upside down if elected to a second term.

The White House Office of Management and Budget released a memo Tuesday afternoon that clarified its Jan. 27 order to all federal agencies to temporarily freeze the disbursement of grants and loans.

Programs that are not connected to the executive orders are not affected by this pause.

The executive orders covered by the guidance include:

• Protecting the American People Against Invasion
• Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid
• Putting America First in International Environmental Agreements
• Unleashing American Energy
• Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing
• Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government
• Enforcing the Hyde Amendment

The OMB said only programs related to these executive orders are subject to the pause, while others will continue as usual.

The OMB further clarified that the pause is not a blanket freeze for all federally funded programs. It is specifically limited to programs, projects and activities affected by the president’s executive orders. This includes initiatives like ending DEI programs, halting support for the Green New Deal and cutting funding for nongovernmental organizations that conflict with national interests, the OMB said.


FireRescue1 Staff contributed to this breaking news update. Follow FireRescue1’s original story below.

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By Bill Carey
FireRescue1

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s administration directed the Office of Management and Budget to temporarily halt the disbursement of grants and loans by federal agencies, with exceptions for programs like Social Security, Medicare and other forms of direct aid to individuals.

The memo states that the temporary pause, effective at 5 p.m. on Jan. 28, is aimed at ensuring agencies comply with Trump’s executive orders to eliminate “Marxist equity, transgenderism and green new deal social engineering policies” from their programs, Roll Call reported.

The specifics on how extensive the pause will be in practice are unclear, given the Office of Management and Budget’s ability to grant exceptions on a case-by-case basis language exempting direct aid to individuals, and a clause indicating that the pause is subject to what is permissible under applicable law.
“Career and political appointees in the Executive Branch have a duty to align Federal spending and action with the will of the American people as expressed through Presidential priorities,” acting OMB Director Matthew Vaeth wrote in the memo. “This memorandum requires Federal agencies to identify and review all Federal financial assistance programs and supporting activities consistent with the President’s policies and requirements.”

The memo further specifies that oversight of each federal assistance program will be assigned to “a senior political appointee to ensure that Federal financial assistance aligns with Administrative priorities.”

Reports from each agency detailing all accounts affected by the pause are due to the Office of Management and Budget by Feb. 10.

Agencies have also been directed to retract previously issued award solicitations and “cancel awards already granted that conflict with Administrative priorities,” where law permits, according to the report.

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