Chaos in Washington: The White House reverses decision to freeze federal grants
The White House has backed down from an executive order freezing federal grants, aid and loans, Reuters reported, ahead of the new administration’s appearance in federal court to defend the decision, following a lawsuit filed by non-profit organizations.
President Donald Trump’s surprise announcement Monday night that he would halt trillions of dollars in federal spending to ensure that government agencies’ spending is in line with his “Make America Great Again” agenda sent panic through Washington and among local officials across the country.
Immediately after the order was issued, a coalition of nonprofit organizations filed a lawsuit in federal court in Washington, seeking to block the Office of Management and Budget from implementing Trump’s directive.
The lawsuit alleges that even a temporary halt in funding could immediately deprive people and communities of life-saving services, including health care, small business support, and programs for the LGBTQ community.
The US District Judge Lauren Ali-Khan temporarily blocked the Trump administration from enforcing the new order.
Before the court temporarily blocked the order, lawmakers fielded calls from concerned constituents, Democrats criticized what they saw as an unconstitutional power grab, and even some of Trump’s GOP allies expressed discomfort with the scale of the sudden moves.
Questions were raised: Would elderly cancer patients be denied treatment?
Would schoolchildren be denied lunch?
The executive order appeared to include a wide range of programs ranging from anti-poverty initiatives to medical research, as well as other forms of aid to states, cities and schools.
Amid the questions and confusion, the White House was forced to issue a second memo clarifying that the scope of programs affected would be slightly smaller, with exceptions for programs such as Medicaid, Social Security and rental assistance.
The memo also noted that officials may grant exceptions on a case-by-case basis, exempting direct transfers to individuals.
