People gather during a rally in support of federal funding and in opposition to U.S. President Donald Trump’s order to pause all federal grants and loans, near the White House in Washington, U.S., January 28, 2025. After a hearing in Washington, D.C. federal court, U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan on Tuesday temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s freeze on federal grants and loans.
“Funding saves lives”: reads one placard. A two-page internal memo that was circulated by the office of management and budget said that all federal loans and grants would be halted starting at 5pm on Monday. It said that financial assistance should be dedicated to “ending wokeness and the weaponization of government”. “The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve,” the memo added.
The memo said the temporary block would give the Administration “time to review agency programmes and determine the best use of the funding” for programmes consistent with the law and the “President’s priorities”.
Former federal prosecutor Shan Wu told CNN that the move violated the impoundment act of 1974, which required the executive branch to “set forth exact reasons” for a temporary block on federal grants and loans.
While hundreds took to the streets, Democrats criticized President Donald Trump in the strictest words. Senator Chris Murphy branded the memo as “grossly unconstitutional”. “The President cannot unilaterally suspend government programs in order to impose his own priorities”, Murphy told CNN.
Administration officials argued that the decision to halt loans and grants was necessary to ensure that spending complied with Trump’s recent blitz of executive orders.
