US President Donald Trump’s budget office on Wednesday rescinded an order freezing spending on federal grants, less than two days after it sparked widespread confusion and legal challenges across the country, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The Monday evening order from the White House Office of Management and Budget sparked uncertainty over a crucial financial lifeline for states, schools and organisations that rely on trillions of dollars from Washington and left the White House scrambling to explain what would and would not be subject to a pause in funding.
The people, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal guidance, confirmed that the OMB pulled the order on Wednesday in a two-sentence notice to agencies and departments.
Administration officials said the decision to halt loans and grants was necessary to ensure that spending complies with Trump’s recent blitz of executive orders.
Agencies had been directed to answer a series of yes or no questions on each federal programme by February 7. The questions included “Does this programme promote gender ideology?” and “Does this programme promote or support in any way abortion?”
But the vaguely worded memo, combined with incomplete answers from the White House throughout the day, left lawmakers, public officials and average Americans struggling to figure out what programmes would be affected by the pause. Even temporary interruptions in funding could cause lay-offs or delays in public services.
