“This is cruelty, this is lawlessness, this is a heist done on a national scale,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said at a press conference at the Capitol.
“No matter how much he may believe he does, the president does not have the authority to ignore the law, and we’re going to fight this in every way that we can.”
Acting Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Matthew Vaeth ordered the temporary pause on “all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance” to “the extent permissible under applicable law” in a Jan. 27 memo.
He directed federal agencies to review all financial assistance programs, assess their alignment with President Donald Trump’s recent directives and priorities, and submit their findings by Feb. 10.
The suspension will take effect at 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 28.
“This illegal move is a massive, massive overreach by the Trump administration. The American people did not vote for this kind of senseless chaos,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said.
Murray noted that the Senate Budget Committee is slated to vote on Russ Vought’s nomination for OMB director on Jan. 30. She said she would ask Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the committee chairman, to delay the vote in light of the funding freeze.
“Republicans should not advance that nomination out of committee until the Trump administration follows the law,” Murray said.
Trump has signed a flurry of executive orders since taking office on Jan. 20, reversing a slew of policies established under the Biden administration. Vaeth cited several of those orders as justification for the pause, pointing to the president’s directives on ramping up immigration enforcement, reassessing foreign aid, lifting environmental regulations, and ending diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, among others.
“Career and political appointees in the Executive Branch have a duty to align Federal spending and action with the will of the American people as expressed through Presidential priorities,” Vaeth wrote in his memo.
“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.”
The memo leaves room for exceptions to the pause, with new awards to be granted on a case-by-case basis. Medicare and Social Security benefits and financial assistance directly received by individuals are also exempt.
New USAID leadership revealed in another Jan. 27 memo that the agency was investigating actions taken by certain staffers that “appeared to be designed to circumvent the President’s Executive Orders and the mandate from the American people.”
The employees in question will remain on leave until further notice.
