News | February 7th, 2025
President Trump’s ongoing battle with federal funding freeze
By: By: Naji Rutherford
On Jan. 28, Trump’s administration issued executive order M-25-13, a call for a temporary freeze on federal assistance by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, possibly disrupting public universities, poverty programs, housing assistance and disaster relief. “This memorandum requires Federal agencies to identify and review all Federal financial assistance programs and supporting activities consistent with the President’s policies and requirements,” the memo said.
Administration officials said the pause was necessary to review government-issued spending throughout various institutions. Additionally, agencies are to submit detailed information on any programs, projects or activities affected by this pause by Feb. 10, pausing issuance of new awards and other actions impacted by the executive orders to the Office of Management and Budget. Agencies are also required to delegate a senior political appointee to ensure the management of funds operates smoothly.
This federal pause came after the announcement of the Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity executive order, in which Trump ordered the cease of DEI programs and initiatives on Jan. 21. In tandem, both orders seek to eliminate discrimination based on race and gender by revoking these DEI initiatives and repealing funding for projects that fall under these categories.
With less than a day to prepare for impact, the executive orders caused mass hysteria and confusion across schools, programs and organizations that rely on federal funding. On the same Tuesday afternoon, the OMB issued a Q&A statement following up on the executive order. According to the statement, programs providing direct assistance to citizens and small businesses, such as Social Security, Medicaid, SNAP, Pell Grants and rental assistance, will not be affected.
However, on Tuesday, when the federal freeze was scheduled to go into effect, all 50 state Medicaid agencies could not access the federal fund portal that assists over 72 million Americans. In a post on X, previously known as Twitter, Sen. Ron Wyden said this is a “blatant attempt to rip away health insurance from millions of Americans overnight” that “will get people killed.”
In response, U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan challenged Trump’s administration minutes before the freeze was scheduled to take effect. After a group of nonprofit and public health organizations filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, AliKhan gathered an administrative stay for a hearing, allowing these organizations to identify a specific harm for the orders.
“I will be prepared, if I am not satisfied that you have met the standard for the [temporary restraining order], to vacate the administrative stay on Monday,” AliKhan said. The D.C. federal judge is looking to issue a temporary restraining order to block the federal freeze for an additional two weeks. AliKhan’s current block is said to end on Feb. 3 at 5 p.m., and another hearing is scheduled for Feb. 3 at 11 a.m.
Following insistent pushback from Democrats and criticism from organizations, the OMB rescinded the federal freeze order on Jan. 29. However, federal funding review by the OMB will remain “in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented,” according to White House Secretary Karoline Leavitt in a post on X.
Two days later, Democrats continued to push back on Trump’s executive orders, as U.S. District Court Judge John McConell Jr. of Rhode Island issued another temporary restraining order blocking Trump’s federal freeze in 22 states.
The lawsuit stated: “During the pendency of the Temporary Restraining Order, Defendants shall not pause, freeze, impede, block, cancel, or terminate Defendants’ compliance with awards and obligations to provide federal financial assistance to the States, and Defendants shall not impede the States’ access to such awards and obligations, except on the basis of the applicable authorizing statutes, regulations, and terms.”
It is clear that U.S. citizens are displeased with the current state of the federal government’s funding endeavors. As the Trump administration progresses, tensions between the American government and its citizens seemingly increase by the day.
“Americans fought back, and Donald Trump backed off,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, said in a statement. “Though the Trump Administration failed in this tactic, it’s no secret that they will try to find another, and when they do, it will again be Senate Democrats there to call it out, fight back, and defend American families.”
