All federal grants and loans are on pause following an order from the White House budget office earlier this week in an effort to evaluate spending.
The internal memorandum, delivered on Monday, could impact trillions of dollars in federal spending. According to White House Office of Management and Budget acting director Matthew Vaeth, all federal agencies “must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance,” per CNN.
The latest move from the White House will not impact Social Security or Medicare benefits, and the new administration’s latest directive will also not affect individual direct assistance.
The pause officially kicks off at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, January 28. According to the memo, the federal government spent $3 trillion on assistance last year alone.
“This temporary pause will provide the Administration time to review agency programs and determine the best uses of the funding for those programs consistent with the law and the President’s priorities,” Vaeth wrote in the memo.
The memo from the White House says the freeze is consistent with President Trump’s executive orders, which he began signing last week following his inauguration. The pause applies to “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 memo read.
The memo said that financial assistance should be focused on “advancing Administration priorities” that help strengthen the country while relieving “the financial burden of inflation for citizens, unleashing American energy and manufacturing, ending ‘wokeness’ and the weaponization of government, promoting efficiency in government, and Making America Healthy Again,” Vaeth continued.
While paused, the White House says a review will be conducted to assess whether the programs align with the administration’s executive orders. Federal agencies must report to the Office of Management and Budget by February 10, detailing which programs have been paused.
Every agency must also designate “a senior political appointee” to track spending to ensure it aligns with the administration’s policy direction.