Summary
Donald Trump has ordered a freeze on domestic and foreign federal aid to align funding with his conservative agenda.
A memo from the Office of Management and Budget instructed federal agencies to pause aid related to foreign assistance, DEI initiatives, “woke” causes, and the Green New Deal while preserving Social Security, Medicare, and direct payments.
The freeze, which could affect billions in aid, sparked immediate backlash from Democratic leaders, who called it unconstitutional.
Trump framed the freeze as part of a swift rollback of Biden-era policies.
This is madness. He could have tried to just selectively kill programs he didn’t like, but instead he shut down everything pending a review which cannot possibly happen in a timely manner. This throws everything into chaos and even if programs are reinstated that chaos in the meantime will be devastating. This is irresponsible and harmful at any length, but to try to make a move of this magnitude in a couple pages with poorly described exemptions adds a whole extra dimension.
It needs to be stayed (and the stay accepted by the administration) almost immediately to limit the harm.