Trump-Vance administration/funds freeze

About

On 2025-01-27, the administration issued an order (PDF) through the Office of Management and Budget to freeze disbursement of all federal funds. This was blatantly illegal, not to mention hugely disruptive (which was probably the intended effect) to government operations and the lives of many individuals. It was temporarily halted by court order the next day.

News

• 2025/02/14 17:56 UTC [L..T] NC State hiring freeze: Faculty, staff positions on hold amid federal budget uncertainty «North Carolina State University Executive Vice Chancellor Warwick Arden told college deans, vice provosts and senior vice provosts on Friday that he was implementing an immediate "pause on all hiring activities" in response to uncertainty about the federal budget. [/] "Given the uncertain impacts of the presidential administration's Executive Orders and guidance, the potential shut down of the federal government on March 14, and financial challenges that the state government is dealing with, leadership is becoming increasingly concerned with our budgets over the next year or two," Arden wrote in part in a memorandum. [/] Arden wrote that the hiring pause would be "until further notice."»
• 2025/01/29 00:04 UTC [L..T] Judge pauses Trump's federal funding freeze as confusion and frustration spread «A federal judge has temporarily blocked an effort by the Trump administration to pause federal payments for grants and other programs, suspending a plan that caused widespread confusion on Tuesday. / The order by U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan ensures that federal agencies, states and other organizations that receive money from the federal government should continue to receive funds beyond a previously set deadline of 5 p.m. ET.»
• 2025/01/29 [L..T] Trump White House rescinds order freezing federal spending, reversing course «In the memo distributed to federal agencies, Matthew J. Vaeth, acting director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, states that OMB memorandum M-25-13 "is rescinded."» «[White House spokeswoman Caroline] Leavitt acknowledged that the initial budget office memo has been suspended but said that the administration’s broader efforts to block spending it opposes remain in effect. She said the order was rescinded to make clear that the administration will comply with the federal order pausing the freeze and to end the court case.» "We're rescinding the order" plus "we're still doing the thing it says" kind of computes to "we didn't mean for anyone to find out about this; we'll pretend to stop until you're not paying attention anymore".
• 2025/01/29 [L..T] Latest Trump highlights you need to know: Funding freeze to Laken Riley Act Judge Loren AliKhan (US District Court, DC) «has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's order to suspend hundreds of billions of dollars in federal grants and loans just minutes before it was scheduled to take effect on Tuesday», ruling «that the plan should be delayed until 5pm (22:00 GMT) on Monday.» The AJ article also covers the deportations, federal employee buyouts, the Laken Riley Act, and a few other items.
• 2025/01/28 [L..T] Clearly illegal «Under the U.S. Constitution, Congress holds the power of the purse, and Congress approved these payments. While Trump has the power to pause spending, subject to review, this isn't really about pausing. It’s about stopping. That’s called "impounding." In 1974, Congress enacted the Impoundment Control Act in response to Nixon's abuses of power. It bars a president from not spending money Congress has appropriated. Trump believes the Impoundment Control Act is unconstitutional» – and this may be his opening move in an attempt to get the Supreme Court to reverse their earlier ruling supporting that interpretation. Given the authoritarian-packed court Trump gave us in his previous administration, he may succeed.
• 2025/01/28 [L..T] Federal judge blocks Trump federal spending freeze after a day of chaos «A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump from imposing a sweeping pause on trillions of dollars in federal spending, capping a frenetic day of disruption to government programs that fund schools, provide housing and ensure low-income Americans have access to health care.»
• 2025/01/27 [L..T] White House pauses all federal grants, sparking confusion «The White House budget office is ordering a pause to all grants and loans disbursed by the federal government, according to an internal memo sent to agencies Monday, creating significant confusion across Washington.»
• 2025/01/27 [L..T] [US:OMB:M] MEMORANDUM FOR HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES «Federal agencies must 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.»