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The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) rescinded a memo Wednesday that had ordered a “temporary pause” on federal funding and unleashed major confusion across the country.
Why it matters: It’s an astonishing reversal by the Trump administration, a day after top officials defended the funding freeze — which a judge temporarily halted on Tuesday — as necessary to ensure all government spending was aligned with the president’s vision.
Catch up quick: The memo ordering the freeze, issued Monday night, had called for a pause on federal grant, loan and other financial assistance programs — potentially affecting billions or even trillions of dollars in spending.
- White House officials said it would not affect Medicare, Social Security, or other direct assistance that Americans “rely on,” but the lack of detail left state governments, nonprofits, schools and other programs scrambling to determine whether they’d be impacted.
- Outages affecting Medicaid reimbursement portals across the country only added to the confusion, and Democrats seized on the chaos to mount their first significant and sustained attacks on the Trump administration.
What they’re saying: “This is an important victory for the American people whose voices were heard after massive pressure from every corner of this country — real people made a difference by speaking out,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said in a statement.
- “Still, the Trump administration — through a combination of sheer incompetence, cruel intentions, and a willful disregard of the law — caused real harm and chaos for millions over the span of the 48 hours which is still ongoing,” she added.
- The White House has not yet officially addressed why OMB decided to rescind the memo.
This story is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
