Donald Trump on Wednesday rescinded his federal funding freeze that caused havoc and trepidation across the country, one day after a federal judge paused action.
“Any payment required by law to be paid will be paid without interruption or delay,” declared an updated memorandum.
White House Q & A follows:
In implementing President Trump’s Executive Orders, OMB issued guidance requesting that agencies temporarily pause, to the extent permitted by law, grant, loan or federal financial assistance programs that are implicated by the President’s Executive Orders.
Any program not implicated by the President’s Executive Orders is not subject to the pause.
The Executive Orders listed in the guidance are:
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
Any program that provides direct benefits to individuals is not subject to the pause.
The guidance establishes a process for agencies to work with OMB to determine quickly whether any program is inconsistent with the President’s Executive Orders. A pause could be as short as day. In fact, OMB has worked with agencies and has already approved many programs to continue even before the pause has gone into effect.
Any payment required by law to be paid will be paid without interruption or delay.
Q: Is this a freeze on all Federal financial assistance?
A: No, the pause does not apply across-the-board. It is expressly limited to programs, projects, and activities implicated by the President’s Executive Orders, such as ending DEI, the green new deal, and funding nongovernmental organizations that undermine the national interest.
Q: Is this a freeze on benefits to Americans like SNAP or student loans?
A: No, any program that provides direct benefits to Americans is explicitly excluded from the pause and exempted from this review process. In addition to Social Security and Medicare, already explicitly excluded in the guidance, mandatory programs like Medicaid and SNAP will continue without pause. Funds for small businesses, farmers, Pell grants, Head Start, rental assistance, and other similar programs will not be paused. If agencies are concerned that these programs may implicate the President’s Executive Orders, they should consult OMB to begin to unwind these objectionable policies without a pause in the payments.
Q: Is the pause of federal financial assistance an impoundment?
A: No, it is not an impoundment under the Impoundment Control Act. It is a temporary pause to give agencies time to ensure that financial assistance conforms to the policies set out in the President’s Executive Orders, to the extent permitted by law. Temporary pauses are a necessary part of program implementation that have been ordered by past presidents to ensure that programs are being executed and funds spent in accordance with a new President’s policies and do not constitute impoundments.
Q: Why was this pause necessary?
A: To act as faithful stewards of taxpayer money, new administrations must review federal programs to ensure that they are being executed in accordance with the law and the new President’s policies.
Just a red rubber nose for Trumpie !
PUSHBACK?? or WALKBACK?? What is the betting on how fast the new young media representative for President Donald Trump will be around. I imagine that indicating that you practice honesty and then getting off that past quickly undercuts integrity for certain.
As I wrote earlier today:
Thank you for posting the Executive Order that lit a profound pushback yesterday from multiple public sources that responded to an unknown appointed OMB official delivering directives that threaten or affect the lives of doubtless more than two-thirds of US citizens, whether they realize it or not at this moment. A Federal court official temporarily paused the process that has promoted fear, concern, and many questions about the predicate “Trump MANDATE”. Where are the details, the facts on which the ORDER was constructed? Doesn’t living in the White House, with Senate and House majorities, and existing numbers of Republican appointments in judicial roles enough to carry the day and the Trump message? Apparently, not.
When garnering fewer than 50% of popular votes cast in an election and depending on a narrow range of States where competition has been managed and skewed in some cases out of sight to many voters, and terming it a MANDATE, is that the third BIG LIE to frame President Trump? The first was naturally the Original BIG LIE that the 2020 Election was rigged (and while the best legal brains he retained could not do better than 61 losses in court and 1 marginal win). The many BIG LIE proponents had four added years to find evidence of their beliefs while not surfacing any facts about widespread ballot abuse sufficient to upset the 2020 election. While campaigning for two years for President in the 2024 campaign, Trump did not surface plans, just concepts about the future, and denied knowing about the Heritage Foundation Project 2025. Isn’t that the SECOND BIG LIE to US citizens though it was published in 2023 and numerous of its’ special chapter authors are currently promoted by Trump for officialdom?
The reaction to ‘royal decree’ yesterday and rapid steps to cover his retreat ‘temporarily’ substantiates the concept of MANDATE as the third major LIE of the Trump Era. Contrary to statements in the Exec Order, there was no statement of “Trump administrative priorities” which the Order proposes to advance; focusing $$$ on ‘stronger and safer’ without detail is likely false when combined with philosophical policy that restricts benefits to the few rather than equitably to the many; first day promises, including eliminating inflation composes additional falsity when dealing with eggs or anything else; American energy production at an all-time high, manufacturing, efficiency, healthcare, and likely even WW2 (wokeness and weaponization), cannot stand the light of day for governance practices and quality delivery from these orders.
Should we expect to know more about changes? Who pays the bills when you look at the numbers? Is it the rapidly increasing Billionaire class or those of us who work and seek middle class status while supporting those who are more vulnerable? Where can you use your voice to provide answers to the controversy? Time will tell.
OMB answers:
“To act as faithful stewards of taxpayer money, new administrations must review federal programs to ensure that they are being executed in accordance with the law and the new President’s policies.”
“Ready. Aim. Fire.” These are the skilled directions for faithful soldiers on the firing line to assure safety and best results for all.
Why would stewards, other than those more loyal to a President, than their neighbors perform a review while the machine under review ceases activities through a “temporary pause” with no details, explanations, or timetable attached?
Where is a statement of the new President’s policies that appear to be what current operations of US government is to be “compared or contrasted to”? What is a faithful steward to do when Presidential policies actually conflict with current operations? To whom is the “steward” obligated in a democratic republic? Does the steward become a “court jester” for a King, without realizing it? Time will tell.