Thursday, January 30, 2025 - US President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday, January 29, rescinded a memo that froze federal grants and loans and created widespread confusion this week.
A senior administration official confirmed the rescission which was
ordered by the Office of Management and Budget, NBC News reports.
The initial order, which sparked chaos and confusion across Washington,
was temporarily halted by a federal district judge on Tuesday
evening.
Democrats, who pushed back on the White House order, celebrated the
rescission of the memo soon after it was reported Wednesday.
"Americans fought back and Donald Trump backed off," Senate
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement. "Though the
Trump Administration failed in this tactic, it’s no secret that they will try
to find another, and when they do, it will again be Senate Democrats there to
call it out, fight back, and defend American families."
The first directive from OMB came Monday night, directing federal
agencies to "temporarily pause all activities related to obligation
or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency
activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not
limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental
organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal."
The memo said the pause would allow the administration to review which
programs were "consistent" with Trump's agenda. Social Security,
Medicare, and direct payments to individuals were not supposed to be affected,
but because the memo was so vaguely worded, it wasn’t clear exactly which aid
would be halted.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday that
pulling back the memo was an attempt to "end any confusion."
"This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding
freeze," she wrote on X. "It is simply a rescission of the OMB memo.
Why? To end any confusion created by the court's injunction. The President's
EO's on federal funding remain in full force and effect, and will be rigorously
implemented."
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