An abrupt freeze on nearly all federal grants and loans announced Monday night by the Trump administration has created widespread confusion across the government, Congress, state programs and nonprofit organizations that rely on federal funding.
The Office of Management and Budget sent a vaguely worded two-page memo to all federal agencies Monday night directing them to “temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance.”
It’s not clear exactly which programs will be halted, but OMB also sent a separate document, asking federal agencies that provide financial assistance, for details on more than 2,600 programs, including:
- School meals for low-income students
- The WIC nutrition program for pregnant women and infants
- Wildfire preparedness for the Department of Interior
- The Medicare enrollment assistance program
- USAID foreign assistance
- Mine inspections
- A reintegration program for homeless veterans
OMB asked for the information to be submitted by Feb. 7.