[NEWS] Judge pauses Trump's federal funding freeze as confusion and frustration spread...

[BrasSmonkey]

Trump is smart!! now they have to itemize where the funds are going! we will see which are for illegal aliens!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
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.

"This is a sigh of relief for millions of people who have been in limbo over the last twenty-four hours as the result of the Trump Administration's callous attempt to wholesale shutter federal assistance and grant programs that people across this country rely on," said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of the group Democracy Forward, which led a legal challenge to the policy.

The challenge included the groups the National Council of Nonprofits, the American Public Health Association, Main Street Alliance and SAGE. The judge's pause on the order is in effect until Monday, Feb. 3.

Under a memo from the Office of Management and Budget and obtained by NPR, a temporary pause in funding was set to take effect Tuesday evening, but a senior administration official said that the pause could be as short as a day if an agency determines its programs are in compliance.

The official said the directive should not be interpreted as a full funding freeze. The official, who was not authorized to publicly discuss the internal memo, said that agencies are supposed to review their grants, loans and programs to ensure that they align with the new administration's priorities.

Administration officials have insisted that the impacts are misunderstood, but the actual text of the memo is far-reaching and the follow-up guidance has been vague. On Tuesday afternoon, the White House issued a fact sheet that said "the pause does not apply across-the-board" and that "any program that provides direct benefits to Americans" — like Social Security, Medicare and food stamps — "is explicitly excluded."

The memo followed dozens of executive actions signed by President Trump over the past week. Those documents included calls for reviews of various programs and funding. Trump has explicitly said all DEI programs should be halted, for example, and is generally pushing for more government efficiency and less spending by the federal government.

The new administration is also seeking to make broad changes to the federal workforce.

Critics call the demand for a funding freeze unlawful because Congress has already approved the money to be spent, but the administration is arguing that this action is not full impoundment — and instead a temporary review.

https://www.npr.org/2025/01/28/nx-s1-52 ... lt-funding

[LookyLou]

Stop the waster of tax payer money

[Kosta]

What is so wrong with not wanting to waste money, it sounds a solid idea.