Federal grants paused: Is Trump ending food stamps? Student loans?

The White House is pausing federal grants and loans starting on Tuesday as President Donald Trump’s administration begins an across-the-board ideological review of its spending.
Here’s the latest:
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Will billions for Medicaid be halted?
Medicaid is notably not exempt from a White House directive to pause all federal grants and loans by the end of day Tuesday. Medicare and Social Security, however, were spared in the memo.
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The U.S. Health and Human Services agency doles out over a half trillion dollars to states in a joint partnership to run Medicaid, the nation’s health care coverage for about 80 million of the poorest of Americans, including millions of children.
A spokesman for Illinois Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office said the state’s agencies have reported issues accessing the website used to request disbursement for Medicaid payments.
HHS did not immediately respond to questions about the spending freeze and whether Medicaid payments would continue.
EPA says it’s working to implement pause on federal grants and loans ordered by the White House
An Environmental Protection Agency spokeswoman says the pause will “align federal spending and action with the will of the American people as expressed through President Trump’s priorities.”
The agency is temporarily pausing all activities related to the obligation or disbursement of EPA federal financial assistance, spokeswoman Molly Vaseliou said Tuesday.
The EPA controls billions of dollars in grants and other spending, including through the Inflation Reduction Act and the bipartisan infrastructure law, as well as programs intended to ensure safe drinking water and other goals. The money goes to state and local governments as well as tribes and nonprofit groups.
“EPA is continuing to work with OMB as they review processes, policies and programs, as required by the memorandum,” Vaseliou said.
The White House is pausing federal grants and loans starting on Tuesday as President Donald Trump’s administration begins an across-the-board ideological review of its spending. Tracie Strahan reports.
Senators call Trump’s funding freeze an attack on communities and the power of Congress
Democratic Senators are describing panicked calls coming overnight from communities back home afraid of what will happen to programs for children, seniors, public works and disease research as the Trump administration pauses federal funding for review.
“This is no way to govern,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, said at a news conference at the Capitol.
Congress has the power of the purse but the administration’s action is seen as a direct challenge to that authority, all but courting legal action with drawn out lawsuits.
“This is a profound constitutional issue,” said Sen. Angus King, the independent from Maine.
“What happened last night is the most direct assault on the authority of Congress, I believe, in the history of the United States,” King said.
Longtime budget watchers warn Trump’s funding freeze is threatening programs Americans depend on
“This new OMB memo is certain to cause chaos and could result in serious harm to a broad swath of people and communities around the country,” wrote Sharon Parrott, a former White House budget official who’s now president of the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.
She said the Trump administration “seems determined to subvert Congress, its hand-waving about following the law notwithstanding.”
Education Department says the pause doesn’t apply to grants received directly by individuals
That includes the more than 40 million Americans with federal student loans and 7 million with federal Pell Grants for low-income students.
This means students who rely on federal financial aid to pay for tuition and other costs are not expected to see any disruption from the pause. Department officials said they’re still reviewing the effect of the memo.
The White House is pausing federal grants and loans starting on Tuesday as President Donald Trump’s administration begins an across-the-board ideological review of its spending. Tracie Strahan reports.
The White House memo on federal aid came as a shock to some
“We’ve never seen anything like this,” said Marcia Howard, executive director of Federal Funds Information for States, a nonprofit that analyzes the effect of federal actions on states. “It is unprecedented.”
Although the federal government has rescinded unspent funds in the past, it hasn’t normally halted grants on the front-end, she said. The grant pause is perhaps most similar to a federal government shutdown, when a congressional impasse on spending legislation delays federal payments for some state and local services.
“What we generally have observed with states under those circumstances is that a couple of weeks isn’t hugely disruptive,” Howard said.
States on average receive about 30% of their revenues from the federal government, according to Federal Funds Information for States. The largest grant program is Medicaid, which provides health care for lower-income children and adults. But it’s unclear whether the Trump administration’s pause will interrupt the flow of Medicaid reimbursement funds to states.
Trump harnessing his power to advance his conservative goals
Washington is a hub of spending that flows to various departments, local governments, nonprofits and contractors, and the memo has left countless people who are dependent on that money wondering how they’ll be affected.
Unlike during his first term, when Trump and many members of his inner circle were unfamiliar with Washington, this time he’s reaching deep into the bureaucracy.
“They are pushing the president’s agenda from the bottom up,” said Paul Light, an expert on the federal government and professor emeritus of public service at New York University.
He also said there are risks in Trump’s approach, especially with so many voters reliant on Washington.
“You can’t just hassle, hassle, hassle. You’ve got to deliver.”
Immigrant and refugee advocates were cut off even before Monday’s funding pause
Last week, the Justice Department halted contracts to provide legal information to people facing deportation in immigration court. Government-funded nonprofit groups were told in an email “to stop work immediately” on helping people navigate the system’s complex laws and procedures.
“We often hear that people don’t know what’s happening. Why are they detained? What’s going to happen next? And we are being stopped from even giving that basic level of orientation,” said Michael Lukens, executive director of Amica Center for Immigrant Rights.
The State Department told groups that give temporary housing and job training to resettled refugees to stop work immediately on government-funded efforts. Global Refuge said it affected 5,870 refugees under its watch.
“Recently arrived refugees who fled unimaginable danger and lawfully came to the U.S. rely on the initial assistance of Global Refuge to help them navigate life in America,” Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, the group’s president, wrote in a fund-raising pitch Monday.
State official awaiting guidance on effect of memo pausing federal loans and grants
In Kansas, state Transportation Secretary Calvin Reed said he learned of the Trump administration’s move Monday night and that the agency is still reviewing it and awaiting more guidance from federal officials.
Federal funds are a key source of money for highway and bridge projects, and the department expects to receive $664 million in federal funds during the 12 months beginning July 1, almost 40% of its annual budget of nearly $1.7 billion.
“We think it’s a low risk for our typical everyday highway projects,” he said Tuesday, before briefing a legislative committee on his department’s operations. “The target seems to be some of the initiatives that the Trump administration has said publicly that they want to change, things like DEI, electric vehicle infrastructure.”
Democrats and independent organizations criticize the administration for federal grant pause
They described the administration’s actions as capricious and illegal because Congress had already authorized the funding.
“Congress approved these investments and they are not optional; they are the law,” New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, said in a statement. “It will mean missed payrolls and rent payments and everything in between: chaos for everything from universities to non-profit charities.”
Medicare and Social Security benefits won’t be affected by the pause in federal grants and loans
That’s according to the memo on the pause from Matthew Vaeth, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget.
But there was no explanation of whether the pause would affect Medicaid, food stamps, disaster assistance and other programs. The memo said it should be implemented “to the extent permissible under applicable law.”
Trump is pausing federal loans and grants as his administration reviews spending
The decision by the Republican administration could affect trillions of dollars and cause widespread disruption in health care research, education programs and other initiatives. Even grants that have been awarded but not spent are supposed to be halted.
“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,” said a memo from Matthew Vaeth, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget.
The pause takes effect Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET, and it’s unclear from the memo how sweeping it will be. Vaeth said all spending must comply with Trump’s executive orders, which are intended to undo progressive steps on transgender rights, environmental justice and diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, efforts.