The White House imposes a federal aid freeze to concentrate on Trump’s conservative agenda.

White House

In a broad effort to cut off government support for “woke” causes that do not align with his agenda, President Donald Trump has ordered a halt on both domestic and overseas federal money. Matthew J. Vaeth, acting director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, sent out a document Monday night that NBC News was able to view. The memo stated that the changes would take effect on Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET and linked to a series of executive orders that Trump has signed since taking office last week.

The executive orders may implicate various agency activities, such as financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the Green New Deal, Vaeth stated. “Federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities,” he said.

“Time to evaluate agency programs and determine the appropriate uses of the funding for those programs consistent with the law and the President’s priorities” is what the document said the halt would provide.

Social Security, Medicare, and direct payments to individuals are exempt, according to the document, which could impact billions of dollars in help.

Agencies must “quickly identify” any legally required activities or deadlines that might arise during the delay, according to Vaeth’s memo.

The memo, which Politico first published, stressed that federal help must be aligned with Trump’s policy objectives, which includes a series of executive orders that represent a significant departure from President Joe Biden’s administration. However, it did not specify which organizations or programs would be impacted. Additional executive orders signed by Trump on Monday include plans to construct an Israel-style “Iron Dome” missile defense system and to rescind government diversity, inclusion, and equality initiatives.

At his Trump National Doral golf property in Miami, where he hosted the House Republicans’ annual policy conference, Trump claimed that his government “has been acting with urgency and historic speed to correct every single calamity of the Biden administration.”

On Capitol Hill, there was immediate opposition to Monday’s letter because several people felt it directly challenged the powers granted to Congress alone.

Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington, and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Democrat from Connecticut, who leads the House appropriations committees, wrote to OMB to express their “extreme alarm about the Administration’s efforts to undermine Congress’s power of the purse, threaten our national security, and deny resources for states, localities, American families, and businesses.”

The pause, they said, is illegal and unconstitutional. “The scope of what you are ordering is stunning, unprecedented, and will have terrible ramifications across the country,” they said.

Adding his voice to the growing chorus of opposition voices criticizing the government assistance suspension was Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

“America is seeing increased anarchy and disorder as the Trump administration flagrantly flouts the law by stalling almost all essential funding that supports initiatives in every community nationwide. The American people would suffer greatly if this keeps up,” he stated in a statement late Monday.

Schumer continued, “They say this is merely temporary, but no one should believe that.” “These are investments that Congress approved, and they are required by law; they are not optional.”

J.B. Pritzker, the governor of Illinois, likewise declared on X that the unilateral action was unlawful.

“We will not tolerate illegal activities that will hurt millions of working families, children, and the elderly in Illinois,” he declared.

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