US President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday, January 29, rescinded a memo that froze federal grants and loans and created widespread confusion this week.
A senior administration official confirmed the rescission which was ordered by the Office of Management and Budget, NBC News reports.
The initial order, which sparked chaos and confusion across Washington, was temporarily halted by a federal district judge on Tuesday evening.
Democrats, who pushed back on the White House order, celebrated the rescission of the memo soon after it was reported Wednesday.
“Americans fought back and Donald Trump backed off,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement. “Though the Trump Administration failed in this tactic, it’s no secret that they will try to find another, and when they do, it will again be Senate Democrats there to call it out, fight back, and defend American families.”
The first directive from OMB came Monday night, directing federal agencies to “temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal.”
The memo said the pause would allow the administration to review which programs were “consistent” with Trump’s agenda. Social Security, Medicare, and direct payments to individuals were not supposed to be affected, but because the memo was so vaguely worded, it wasn’t clear exactly which aid would be halted.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday that pulling back the memo was an attempt to “end any confusion.”
“This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze,” she wrote on X. “It is simply a rescission of the OMB memo. Why? To end any confusion created by the court’s injunction. The President’s EO’s on federal funding remain in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented.”