Donald Trump’s first week in office is complete and here are some key highlights and problems.
Monday, the Office of Management and Budget issued Memorandum M-25-13. In this memo, the Trump Administration ordered executive departments and agencies to suspend disbursements “that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, [Diversity, Equity and Inclusion], woke gender ideology, and the green new deal” by Tuesday, Jan. 28 at 5 p.m. pending a “comprehensive analysis” of their programs reported the Washington Post.
This comes after President Donald Trump signed over 20 executive orders his first week back in office, one of which included an order reversing 78 of former President Joe Biden’s executive orders. Others included ending DEI within the federal government, a declaration that there are only two genders, leaving the World Health Organization, preventing new refugees from entering the country and ending birthright citizenship for those born in the US to undocumented immigrants and temporary residents, according to The Guardian. As per the Associated Press, “public officials and average Americans” were left “struggling to figure out what programs would be affected by the pause” due to the vaguely worded memo issued by the Office of Management and Budget and answers given by the White House.
In response to Americans’ worry over whether their benefits will be suspended, the administration clarified that “any program that provides direct benefits to Americans is explicitly excluded from the pause and exempted from this review process” in an interview with the OMB on Tuesday. In addition to Social Security and Medicare, which are explicitly exempt from Memorandum M-25-13’s mandate, Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program “will continue without pause,” according to the OMB. Pell grants, which are government-issued grants that tend to be awarded to undergraduates, funds for small businesses, rental assistance and similar programs would also be unaffected.
The day after Memorandum M-25-13 was issued, the National Council of Nonprofits, the American Public Health Association, Main Street Alliance and SAGE sued the federal government. In a statement issued on X, formerly Twitter, the president and CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits Diane Yentel expressed concerns shared by many other organizations and Americans, stating “From pausing research on cures for childhood cancer to closing homeless shelters, halting food assistance, reducing safety from domestic violence, and shutting down suicide hotlines… This order could decimate thousands of organizations and leave neighbors without the services they need.”
Prompted by the lawsuit, US District Judge Loren L. AliKhan issued a stay against the order moments before it was set to take effect. The pause, set to expire the afternoon of Monday, Feb. 3 is meant to give time for Judge AliKhan to hear arguments from the US government and the plaintiffs to determine whether organizations will be harmed by the freeze, according to the Associated Press and CBS News.
The administration has since rescinded the memo. However, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, the rescission was to clear any potential confusion caused by the stay issued by Judge AliKhan and is not a rescission of the order itself. In other words, the funding freeze and “comprehensive analysis” of federal programs are still in effect.
