Alarm as Trump administration pauses all federal spending on grants and loans #trump #donaldtrump

#trump #donaldtrump #federal #grant #loans #pause
Alarm as Trump administration pauses all federal spending on grants and loans

Donald Trump’s second presidential administration has paused all grants and loans disbursed by the federal government, potentially upending programs relied upon by millions of Americans.

In a two-page internal memo, Matthew Vaeth, Trump’s acting head of the office of management and budget (OMB), instructed all federal agencies to “temporarily pause all activities related to obligations or disbursement of all federal financial assistance”.

Vaeth said that the pause does not include social security or Medicare – and that the assistance put on hold “does not include assistance provided directly to individuals”.

The halt in spending, coming days after the US halted all foreign aid and placed a pause on renewable energy projects on public land, would ensure that financial assistance is in line with Trump’s policies, Vaeth wrote.

Federal agencies, he added, will halt spending affected by Trump’s recent executive orders that touch upon “financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, [diversity initiatives], woke gender ideology, and the green new deal”.

The freeze in federal funding, set to take place on Tuesday afternoon, has thrown the future of a vast array of programs into uncertainty. It is probably going to affect universities, the non-profit sector, cancer research, food assistance, suicide hotlines and a range of other areas.

There was no explanation as to whether the pause in question would affect Medicaid, food stamps, disaster assistance and other programs. The memo said it should be implemented “to the extent permissible under applicable law”.

While the US president administers federal spending programs, actual spending and budgets are determined by Congress. Democrats said Trump’s spending pause is “breathtaking” and “unprecedented” and will cause disruption to Americans’ day-to-day assistance.

“They say this is only temporary, but no one should believe that,” said Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate leader from New York.

“Donald Trump must direct his administration to reverse course immediately and the taxpayers’ money should be distributed to the people. Congress approved these investments and they are not optional – they are the law.”

In reference to the National Institutes of Health, Schumer’s fellow Democratic senator, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, wrote on social media: “Are you stopping NIH cancer trials?”

Senator Patty Murray of Washington and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrats on the Senate and House appropriations committees, issued a letter expressing “extreme alarm”.

They wrote: “This administration’s actions will have far-reaching consequences for nearly all federal programs and activities, putting the financial security of our families, our national security, and the success of our country at risk.”

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