The White House rescinded an order that froze federal grants and loans, generating widespread confusion among governors, state agencies and non profits over the future of their financial support.
A federal judge had already temporarily blocked the order amid a court challenge, but the Office of Management and Budget today issued a memo recalling the initial directive.
The action — and the uncertainty around it — also gave Democrats a new sense of mojo just over a week into Trump’s term. They quickly pointed to the impact that the order had health care, research and schools, while characterizing the effort as an illegal power grab to usurp Congress’ control of the federal purse strings.
“Americans fought back and Donald Trump backed off,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
The rescinding of the order was the first major reversal of Trump’s new term, in which he has flooded each news cycle with signings of executive orders on everything from ending birthright citizenship to renaming the Gulf of Mexico.
At her first press briefing on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt seemed to get flustered as reporters continuously pressed her on what the initial order covered and what it did not. She insisted that the freeze did not apply to money going directly to individuals, like through Medicare and Social Security. But that still left questions of whether it applied to federal grants made to states and then distributed to groups like Head Start and Meals On Wheels.
In his memo rescinding the order, Matthew J. Vaeth, the acting director for the OMB, wrote that if “you have questions about implementing the President’s executive orders, please contact your agency general counsel.”
