Jerrod KingeryUPDATE: A federal district judge has temporarily blocked President Trump’s plan to pause spending on federal grants and loans.
U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan issued an administrative stay on Tuesday, preventing the Trump administration from freezing funding for open awards. That freeze was set to take place at 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
The stay is in place through at least Monday, and only applies to disbursements for open grants.
ORIGINAL STORY: A memo issued by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) calls for a freeze on all federal assistance in order to review agency program spending.
The memo, issued by acting OMB director Matthew J. Vaeth and obtained by Politico, directs federal agencies to temporarily pause all activities related to the obligation or disbursement of federal financial assistance, including grants and loans.
OMB says this pause is intended to allow the new administration to review agency programs and ensure that the funding aligns with President Donald Trump’s policies and executive orders.
“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,” Vaeth states in the memo.
Vaeth writes that “each agency must complete a comprehensive analysis of all of their Federal financial assistance programs to identify programs, projects, and activities that may be implicated by any of the President’s executive orders.”
The memo also directs federal agencies to pause all activities associated with open notices of funding opportunities (NOFOs), like conducting merit review panels.
Agencies have until Feb. 10 to “submit to OMB detailed information on any programs, projects or activities subject to this pause.”
The freeze goes into effect at 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Jan 28. The memo notes that this pause will not impact Medicare or Social Security benefits.
Photo by Aaron Kittredge
