On Tuesday, January 28th, Donald Trump issued a funding freeze that triggered widespread anxiety, confusion and chaos.
The freeze was announced in a 2-page memo issued by the Office of Management and Budget to all federal agencies. It stated the freeze included any funds secured “for foreign aid” and for “nongovernmental organizations”.
More specifically, the review will rule out programs like Diversity, Equality and Inclusion programs and the provision of critical medical supplies to other countries.
“We’re getting panicked calls,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said during a January 28 news conference. “Virtually any organization, school, state, police, office, county, town or community depends on federal grant money to run its day-to-day operations, and they’re all now in danger” (Aljazeera).
The freeze was to take effect at 5pm on Tuesday. However, outages prevented the allocation of funds before that time arrived. Medicaid portals in every state were down early Tuesday, even though Medicaid was claimed to be unaffected.
The OMB memo was vague, causing confusion within federal assistance programs, at nonprofits and among US citizens who receive government aid.
The freeze included halting grants already awarded to recipients but have not yet been spent.
These resources are considered a financial lifeline for local governments, schools and nonprofit organizations around the US that support low-income families and at-risk individuals.
Why the freeze?
Initially, the Trump Administration asserted the 90-day freeze was necessary to align federal spending with the president’s goals
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated:
“It means no more funding for the green new scam that has cost American taxpayers tens of billions of dollars. It means no more funding for transgenderism and wokeness across our federal bureaucracy and agencies.”
She said the freeze was “not a blanket pause” and said that Social Security, Medicare, food stamps and welfare benefits would not be compromised.
Interestingly, a clear purpose attached to the freeze was not mentioned in the memo, outside of the fact it was simply part of Trump’s executive orders.
Before it could fully take effect, District Judge Loren AliKhan halted the freeze after a group of organizations sued the OMB in response.
The National Council of Nonprofits, the American Public Health Association, Main Street Alliance and SAGE are involved in the suit.
OMB is accused of lacking “authority to unilaterally terminate all federal financial assistance programs across the government, and that the directive targeted grant recipients based in part on recipients’ rights to free expression and association under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment” (Reuters).
Judge AliKhan’s explained the halt is to “maintain the status quo.” The Trump administration can still freeze funding to new programs.
Rescinding the memo
On Wednesday, January 29th, the OMB rescinded the memo with a new memo reading:
“OMB Memorandum M-25-13 is rescinded. If you have questions about implementing the President’s Executive Orders, please contact your agency General Counsel,” (CNN).
Karoline Leavitt posted on X that the president’s executive orders to cut foreign assistance and diversity equity and inclusion initiatives are still in effect.
The Trump administration’s history of discriminatory rhetoric is causing great concern. The freeze and Trump’s determination to weed out “wokeness” is further fueling social tension and anxiety.
Historically marginalized groups are often used as scapegoats, being blamed as the source of economic hardship. This is a phenomenon that has occurred across time, space and culture.
While these matters are complex and multi-faceted, the attitudes and narratives on display intertwine with serious human rights concerns.
Regardless of who the leader is or what type of government, we must stay vigilant about how the economy and laws put into place are shaped at the unnecessary, dangerous expense of others.
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Image source: Caroline Brehman/CQ Roll Call via AP Images
