Update (18:30 ET): It didn’t take long…
One day after the Trump administration suspended grants, loans and other financial aid while the programs undergo a thorough review, Biden’s appointed judge temporarily blocked the break.
U.S. District Judge Loren L. KliKhan, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden in 2022, issued an administration stay that will last until Monday afternoon and will only apply to existing programs, the AP reports.
Administration officials said the decision to suspend loans and grants — a financial lifeline for local governments, schools and nonprofits across the country — was necessary to ensure spending matched Trump’s recent maze of executive orders. The Republican president wants to increase fossil fuel production, eliminate the protection of transgender people, and end efforts toward diversity, equity and inclusion. – AP
According to AliKhan: “It seems that the federal government doesn’t really know the full scope of the programs that are on pause right now.”
Attorney Jessica Norton, who represents the National Council of Nonprofits that brought the suit, said the group has tens of thousands of members across the country who could be affected.
“Our customer members have reported that they are extremely concerned that they will have to do a shutter if there is even a small break,” he said.
Still, DOJ attorney David Schwei said plaintiffs have not determined that any person would lose funding as soon as the break goes into effect.
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By Aldgra Fredly via the Epoch Times,
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) ordered federal agencies in a Jan. 27 memorandum to suspend the distribution of grants, loans and other financial assistance while the programs are reviewed.
Acting OMB Director Matthew Vaeth’s memo directs federal agencies to conduct an in-depth analysis of all financial assistance programs to determine whether they are consistent with executive orders signed by President Donald Trump after his inauguration on Jan. 20.
“In the meantime, to the extent permitted by applicable law, federal agencies must temporarily suspend all activities related to the obligation or disbursement of all federal financial assistance and other relevant agency activities that may be related to executive orders, including but not limited to financial assistance to foreign aid, NGOs, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the New Green Deal,” he stated.
Vaeth noted in his memo that the pause will give the government more time to review agency programs and identify the best uses for funding those programs in accordance with the law and Trump’s priorities.
The suspension will take effect Jan. 28 at 5 p.m., but the OMB may grant exemptions to certain federal decisions on a case-by-case basis, according to the memo.
The memo required agencies to provide detailed information on the programs and activities to be paused by February 10. Agencies will also have to determine “any legally mandated measures or deadlines” for aid programs that will occur during the review, he noted.
Rosa DeLauro, a member of the Democratic House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, and Patty Murray, vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, sent a letter to Vaeth on Jan. 28 urging her to cancel the memo.
They expressed concern about Trump’s executive orders and said the OMB memo would lead to “further disorder and inefficiency,” halting a huge amount of federal financial assistance to states and communities.
“What you order is breathtaking, unprecedented and has devastating consequences across the country,” lawmakers said.
“We are writing today to urge you to comply with the law and the Constitution and to ensure that all federal resources are delivered in accordance with the law.”
Lawmakers argued that the administration’s actions would have “far-reaching consequences” on nearly all federal programs and activities and could potentially threaten people’s financial security.
“The law is the law – and we require you, as acting director of the OMB, to be versed to ensure faithful compliance with the requirements of the law and the implementation of the state’s spending laws as intended,” they said.
One of the executive orders cited in Vaeth’s memo called for the removal of policies and programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) within the federal government. This order requires federal agencies to close all offices and positions related to environmental justice, as well as all equity action plans, grants, and contracts, within 60 days of the order being issued.
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, called it “more lawlessness and chaos in America.”
More court battles are coming, and New York Democrats Attorney General Letitia James plans to ask the Manhattan federal court to block the Republican president’s moves.
“My office will soon take legal action against this administration’s unconstitutional federal funding break,” he said on social media.
Among the executive orders signed on the day of Trump’s inauguration was a large-scale withdrawal of 78 Biden executive orders, many of which set out the former administration’s DEI agenda.
In his inauguration on Jan. 20, Trump said his goal was to “end government policies that are trying to socially shape race and gender into every aspect of public and private life.”
“We are creating a society that is colorful and merit-based,” the president said in his address.
“As of today, it is now the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders: male and female.”
The Epoch Times reached out to OMB for comment, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
