See Idaho Democratic Party response below.
WASHINGTON, DC – Millions of Americans, agencies, businesses, and communities who rely on federal financial assistance such as food commodities, education, loan guarantees, healthcare, grants, or direct appropriations will experience a “temporary pause” of assistance. President Donald Trump last night instructed the Office of Management and Budget to issue a memorandum that requires Federal agencies to identify and review all Federal financial assistance programs and supporting activities consistent with his “policies and requirements” – most notably on civil rights, LGBTQ+ issues, and energy and environmental policy.
This order could cause disruptions within healthcare, housing assistance, education, disaster relief, and several other initiatives that rely on federal funding.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) within the Executive Office of the President (EOP) issued a memorandum to department and agency heads, ordering them to pause all activities related to obligations and disbursements of federal financial assistance by today at 5:00 PM (ET). This memorandum also orders departments and agencies, to the extent permitted by law, to cancel awards already awarded that “are in conflict with Administration priorities.” Financial assistance within this context includes:
- Grants;
- Cooperative Agreements;
- Non-cash contributions or donations of property;
- Direct Appropriations (Earmarks/Congressionally Directed Spending/Community Project Funding);
- Food commodities;
- Loans;
- Loan Guarantees;
- Interest subsidies; and
- Insurance.
“To implement these orders, each agency must complete a comprehensive analysis of all of their Federal financial assistance programs to identify programs, projects, and activities that may be implicated by any of the President’s executive orders. In the interim, to the extent permissible under applicable law, Federal agencies must 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 memorandum says.
This also includes open Notices of Funding Opportunities and the associated review panels.
In the memorandum, Acting Director Matthew Vaeth made it clear that this pause is temporary and does not apply to activities related to Medicare & Social Security Benefits or other forms of assistance provided directly to individuals. There is no mention of Medicaid, which is a partnership between the federal and state levels of government. During the pause, department and agency leads are required to develop a detailed report on any programs, projects, or activities subject to this pause and submit that detailed report to EOP/OMB by February 10th.
Read the memorandum HERE: trumpmemorandum012825
In response to Donald Trump ordering the freeze of virtually all federal funding, Idaho Democratic Party Chair Lauren Necochea released the following statement:
“Donald Trump’s illegal funding freeze is an attack on Idahoans and a dangerous assault on the Constitution. It flagrantly disregards the separation of powers, stripping Congress of its authority over federal spending. The order jeopardizes vital services that thousands of Idahoans depend on every day, including prenatal health care for expectant mothers, early education programs for our youngest learners, crop insurance for farmers, and suicide prevention resources for our veterans.
“Across the nation, attorneys general are fighting for their residents, defending their states against Trump’s unlawful power grab. Yet here in Idaho, Republican leaders remain unwilling to challenge him. Their silence is not only a failure of leadership but also a betrayal of Idaho families whose health and economic well-being hang in the balance.
“Idaho Democrats will continue fighting for working families while Trump and the Republicans who kowtow to him make Idahoans pay the price for his reckless agenda.”
