Trump Administration Withdraws Controversial Federal Aid Freeze Order

On Wednesday, January 29, the Trump administration rescinded a memo that had frozen federal grants and loans, causing widespread confusion earlier in the week.

A senior administration official confirmed the rescission, which was ordered by the Office of Management and Budget.

The initial order, which had sparked chaos and confusion across Washington, was temporarily halted by a federal district judge on Tuesday evening.

Democrats, who opposed the White House order, celebrated the rescission of the memo shortly after it was reported on Wednesday.

"Americans fought back and Donald Trump backed off," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., 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 the OMB came on Monday night, instructing 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 stated that 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 the vague wording of the memo left it unclear which aid would be halted.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday that rescinding 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 EOs on federal funding remain in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented."