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RESCINDED FUNDING FREEZE MEMO ‘JUST A TASTE’ OF CHAOS VOUGHT
WOULD UNLEASH  
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Julia Conley
January 29, 2025
Common Dreams
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_ Trump's decision to halt funding for a variety of federal programs
is "straight out of Project 2025, the far-right blueprint crafted by
Russell Vought," said one lawmaker. _

Russell Vought, U.S. President Trump's nominee to be director of the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), testifies before a Senate
Budget Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington,
U.S., January 22, 2025. , REUTERS/Kaylee Greenlee Beal

 

The confusion and chaos triggered earlier this week by the Trump
administration's federal funding freeze were compounded Wednesday when
the Office of Management and Budget issued a new memo rescinding the
previous announcement.

Shortly after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that
the OMB had rescinded only the memo—not the funding freeze—in an
effort to "end any confusion created by" a federal court's injunction
blocking the directive, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
[[link removed]] (D-N.Y.)
said one thing was clear.

"No responsible senator of any party should vote to confirm [Russell]
Vought to OMB," said the congresswoman.

The original order, which said all federal grants and loans would be
halted starting at 5:00 pm ET Tuesday and which resulted in Medicaid
payment portals being shut down across the country, and its subsequent
rescission, offered "just a taste of the chaos Russ Vought would
unleash," added Ocasio-Cortez, urging Americans to demand that their
senators vote against President Donald Trump's nominee for OMB
director.

Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) echoed Ocasio-Cortez, saying the attempt to
freeze federal grants was "straight out of Project 2025, the far-right
blueprint crafted by Russell Vought."

Vought
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who led the OMB during Trump's first term, is a co-author of the
Heritage Foundation-led Project 2025, which calls for the president to
"ignore laws that safeguard Congress' constitutional power of the
purse," said Boyle.

That was what Monday evening's order did, critics have said this week,
when it called for federal agencies to conduct a "comprehensive
analysis" of their spending to ensure the use of grants and loans
comply with Trump's executive orders, including those banning
diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and denying that
transgender people exist.

Leavitt refused to answer a question at a press briefing Tuesday
regarding whether the directive would impact Medicaid—but before the
briefing was over, Democratic lawmakers said
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portals for the healthcare program for low-income households and
people with disabilities had been disabled due to the OMB memo.

Head Start
[[link removed]] early childhood
education programs also saw an immediate impact, and Democrats warned
that clinical trials could promptly be canceled without funding.

As Democratic lawmakers vowed
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administration's freeze and some called for the Senate Budget
Committee to halt consideration of Vought's nomination on Tuesday,
nonprofit groups and businesses filed a legal challenge, leading U.S.
District Judge Loren AliKhan in the District of Columbia to grant a
"brief administrative stay" directing the OMB not to freeze funds
until a hearing scheduled for February 3.

Democrats and progressive advocates were briefly elated Wednesday
afternoon when the OMB announced it was rescinding the previous
memo—but Leavitt's subsequent comments soon added to the confusion
over whether or not programs such as Meals on Wheels
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Medicaid would be able to continue operating.

"In light of the injunction, OMB has rescinded the memo to end any
confusion on federal policy created by the court ruling and the
dishonest media coverage," said
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"The executive orders issued by the president on funding reviews
remain in full force and effect and will be rigorously implemented by
all agencies and departments. This action should effectively end the
court case and allow the government to focus on enforcing the
president's orders on controlling federal spending. In the coming
weeks and months, more executive action will continue to end the
egregious waste of federal funding."

Mike Ollen, senior political adviser to Democratic Illinois Gov. JB
Pritzker, who spoke out vehemently against the funding freeze on
Tuesday, said the White House had been "clear as mud" about how
Americans would be impacted by president's executive orders.

"Kick elderly folks off of Meals on Wheels, kick kids off of their
healthcare, and then rescind the memo detailing it but not the policy
itself," said
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work all around."

Bobby Kogan, senior director of federal budget policy for the Center
for American Progress, said
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rescission of the memo was "a profoundly welcome step," but noted that
it's clear the White House is moving forward with "other illegal
impoundments," including foreign assistance
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Inflation Reduction Act, and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
funds.

"This won't be the last time they try to override the will of the
American people," said Boyle. "Even now, the White House is still
withholding funding that was approved on a bipartisan
basis—including critical infrastructure investments. We must remain
vigilant—because Trump and his far-right allies will continue to try
and put programs that millions of middle-class families rely on at
risk."

_Julia Conley is a staff writer for Common Dreams._

* Funding freeze
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* Project 2025
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* Russell Vought
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