The White House is defending President Donald Trump’s pausing of federal loans and grants - even as alarm bells sounded over the potential impacts on everyday Americans.
A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the funding freeze until February 3, but the programs could still be at risk, depending on the results of a court battle.
The Office of Management and Budget distributed a memo Monday ordering federal agencies to pause any federal financial assistance to allow Donald Trump and his administration to review whether that aid is consistent with his policies.
The scope of the “temporary” freeze was not immediately clear. Outside of a few honorable mentions — “financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology and the Green New Deal” — the memo did not spell out specific programs that would be impacted. The order does, however, explicitly exclude Medicare and Social Security benefits from being affected.
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Experts warned that a wide range of activities, including nonprofits, food assistance, student loans and scientific research, could be impacted by this order.
At an afternoon briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stressed people receiving individual assistance directly from the government, such as Social Security, Medicare and food stamps, would not be impacted by the freeze. She then attacked the Green New Deal and “wokeness” in justifying the freeze to make sure federal spending remains in line with executive policies.
“[It] is a responsible measure. Biden’s administration spent money like a drunken sailor,” Leavitt said.
Leavitt did not directly respond to questions as to other programs that operate with federal grants including Meals on Wheels or other veterans support organizations, would also be affected. Those programs do not provide “individual assistance” but use federal funds provided to care.
“So what does this pause mean? It means no more funding for illegal DEI programs. It means no more funding for the green new scam that has cost American taxpayers 10s of billions of dollars,” she said.
Leavitt added that agencies can contact OMB if they feel that programs that are being affected “are necessary and in line with the President’s agenda.”
A Meals on Wheels spokesperson told the HuffPost: “The uncertainty right now is creating chaos for local Meals on Wheels providers not knowing whether they should be serving meals today. Which unfortunately means seniors will panic not knowing where their next meals will come from.”
An online system that distributes federal money to Head Start providers sent out an email after news of the pause. The email obtained by the HuffPost reads: “Due to Executive Orders regarding potentially unallowable grant payments, PMS [the payment system] is taking additional measures to process payments. Reviews of applicable programs and payments will result in delays and/or rejections of payments.” It’s not clear how many providers received the message.
Medicaid appears to also have been affected.
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