The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued an internal memorandum pausing all federal grants, loans, and federal financial assistance programs, including all activities associated with an open Notice of Funding Opportunity beginning at 5:00pm today. The memo says the temporary pause is intended to ensure agencies are complying with President Trump’s executive orders to root out “Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies” from programs within their purview. It is not immediately clear how wide-ranging the pause will be in practice, due to the OMB’s ability to grant exceptions on a “case-by-case basis,” language exempting direct aid to individuals, and a clause that states the pause is subject to what’s “permissible under applicable law.” Among the programs that could be impacted by this pause include, among others, funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Inflation Reduction Act, and CHIPS and Science Act, as well as funding for Job Corps and other federal training programs. There is no end date for the pause, however, agencies are required to submit a list to OMB by February 10, 2025 of any programs, projects, or activities that may be subject to it.
