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The White House budget office has ordered a pause in grants, loans and other federal financial assistance, according to a memo sent to government agencies on Monday, potentially paralyzing a vast swath of programs and jeopardizing spending that Congress has mandated by law.
In the two-page memo, Matthew J. Vaeth, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, directed federal agencies to “temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all federal financial assistance,” and any other programs that included “D.E.I., woke gender ideology and the Green New Deal.”
Mr. Vaeth signaled that the pause, which goes into effect on Tuesday, would continue until at least mid-February, and said that it was needed to ensure federal programs aligned with President Trump’s policy priorities.
“The use of federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism and Green New Deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve,” Mr. Vaeth said.
It is not immediately clear what programs would fall under those categories. The Green New Deal, for example, was a policy proposal that never became law.
The extent of the pause, although potentially sweeping, was also unclear. The memo carved out an exception for “assistance received directly by individuals,” and Medicare and Social Security benefits, but did not provide examples — like if a tax benefit for environmentally friendly purchases counted for the exception.
The memo also cited “more than $3 trillion” in federal financial assistance that would be affected by the directive, but it also provided overall spending figures that significantly inflated the federal budget. Government analysts estimated the budget for fiscal year 2024 at $6.7 trillion. Mr. Vaeth’s memo asserts the government spent “nearly $10 trillion” in that fiscal year.
Further confusing the situation, it is uncertain that President Trump has the authority to unilaterally halt government funds allocated by Congress. Under Constitutional separation of powers, Congress passes spending bills, and the president executes the law as it is written.
Mr. Trump’s flouting of budget rules during his first term played a role in his first impeachment in 2019, when he halted the flow of military aid to Ukraine that Congress had allocated.
Glenn Thrush, Maggie Haberman and Amy Schoenfeld Walker contributed reporting.
