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Funding Pause state of play

Overview

There is no generic Executive Order freezing all federal loans and grants. The OMB memo, since rescinded, was an enforcement tool meant to implement a series of Executive Orders which froze certain kinds of grants and loans. The OMB letter encapsulated about 2,600 programs. It is very unclear if the current standing Executive Orders encompass that many programs or if it will be more narrow. The agencies cannot be reached on this matter at this time, even by our Congressional partners. They simply do not have the guidance ready yet.  

The administration has said they never intended for that OMB memo to mean a long term freeze of all 2,600 programs and agencies have said to media that right now they interpret the direction as review and pauses to funding could be as short as a day as they determine that programs do not fit under the Executive Orders dealing with certain policy areas of focus. Whatever they intended, with the rescission of the memo there is not currently standing public direction at how agencies are managing any funding pauses from the standing Executive Orders. 

Here are the executive orders which are relevant to funding freezes: 

  • Border/Immigration
  • Pause distribution of federal money to non-governmental organizations “supporting or providing services, either directly or indirectly, to removable or illegal aliens” pending reviews and audits to identify any operations that may “promote or facilitate violations of our immigration laws.”
  • Trade/Business/Economy/Financial/Tech
  • Direct the commerce and trade secretaries and the U.S. trade representative to consolidate multiple reviews and assessments. Trump ordered consolidated reports by April 1.
  • Climate/Energy/Resources
  • Repeal multiple Biden orders and memoranda regarding climate change, including guidelines for implementing climate related provisions of the inflation reduction act including freezing some spending from the act related to the environment 
  • DEI/Diversity/Social etc
  • Forbid federal money, including grants, from being used to “promote gender ideology” and direct the attorney general and Homeland Security secretary to “ensure that males are not detained in women’s prisons or housed in women’s detention centers.”
  • Foreign Policy/State Affairs
  • Direct Secretary of State (Marco Rubio) to issue guidance to put all State Department “politics, programs, personnel and operations in line with an America First foreign policy, which puts America and its interests first.”
  • Pause all U.S. foreign development aid pending reviews of “efficiencies and consistency” with administration aims, to be conducted within 90 days by relevant agency heads “under guidelines” from Rubio the White House Office of Management and Budget. Rubio can lift the freeze for any program.

 

Here is a link to the federal register with all the orders if you are looking for the numbers etc: https://www.federalregister.gov/presidential-documents/executive-orders/donald-trump/2025

 

The legal challenge

A federal judge has blocked the administration from blocking “open awards” meaning funding which has already been awarded (but perhaps hasn’t been drawn down – not all funding is lump sum). That stay last through Monday February 3rd when the Judge hopes to render a decision on the legality of the funding pauses generally speaking.

 

Final take away as of today: 

While the above Executive Orders are the only ones that technically exist in the relationship to funding pauses, the administration through Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says the admin is still pursuing thorough review (which may or may not mean broad pauses). As of right now there is not further information or guidance on what is paused or being reviewed outside of what is expressly stated in the executive orders above.

 

Disability

 

  • RFK Confirmation hearings: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Kennedy) faced the Senate for his confirmation hearings to be Secretary of Health and Human Services which has jurisdiction over several disability related programs from Medicaid and Medicare to public health research and recommendations.
    • Kennedy was asked specifically about his position regarding the belief in a link between vaccines and autism and did not commit to changing that view one way or another
  • Supreme Court to take up case on ADA violation and public schools
    • The Supreme Court will consider a case this year which will determine what the burden of proof is for plaintiffs bringing Title II ADA claims against schools
    • The case was brought by a teen with epilepsy who has severe seizures that cause her to have the need of assistance walking and using the bathroom. Her seizures are the worst in morning hours so she cannot attend school before noon. Her family petitioned the district for evening instruction under the ADA and lower courts agreed it was a violation that the school wouldn’t provide it, but did not agree it was tantamount to a liability
    • The Supreme Court will decide if plaintiffs like this teen must prove the schools are willfully negligent or discriminatory in order to succeed on the basis of discrimination for these kinds of cases
  • President Trump comments on DEI and the FAA
    • After the deadly plane collision (see more below) at DC National/Reagan Airport, President Trump addressed his concerns about DEI in his press conference
    • He specifically discussed the FAA’s initiative to hire people with disabilities and said that “common sense” would inform that these initiatives alone with other DEI could jeopardize safety

 

American Airlines Crash in DC

  • First deadly airline crash in America since 2009
    • This week a military operated black hawk helicopter collided into a commercial American Airlines flight from Wichita at Washington National/Reagan Airport (DCA) killing at least 67 which accounts for all the passengers and personnel of both aircraft
    • Not much is known about how this collision occurred
    • So far we know that the helicopter was flying at 350 feet in elevation which is 200 above their flight ceiling for the particular path it was on
    • An air traffic controller told the commercial airline to land on the runway above which the collision occurred just a couple minutes before they landed
    • Just before the collision, an air traffic controller asked the craft if they saw each other and did not get a response
      • Some speculation indicates that the ATC was referring to another aircraft that was departing another runway but it is unclear because the ATC did not say helicopter or plane or identify which aircraft he meant
    • Both the FAA and the DOD have begun investigations into the matter

 

Nominee Tracker

 

Confirmed:

  • Bessent – Treasury
  • Burgum - Interior
  • Duffy – Transportation
  • Rubio – State
  • Noem – Homeland Security
  • Hegseth – Defense
  • Zeldin – EPA

 

Completed Senate hearings:

  • Bondi – Attorney General
  • Collins- Veterans Affairs
  • Kennedy (RFK) – Health and Human Services
  • Gabbard – National Intelligence
  • Loeffler- Small Business Administration
  • Rollins- Agriculture
  • Wright – Energy
  • Stefanik – United Nations
  • Patel – FBI
  • Lutnick – Commerce
  • Vought – Office of Management and Budget

 

Waiting for hearing

  • Chavez-DeRemer- Labor
  • Greer- US Trade Representative
  • Weldon – CDC
  • McMahon – Education

Source: Maryland Works