The White House budget office has ordered a pause on all federal grants and loans, according to an internal memorandum sent Monday. The pause also blocks the issuance of new grants.
The freeze is slated to take effect at 5 p.m. Tuesday and could impact trillions of dollars. It marks the latest move by the Trump administration to exert control over federal funding, even that which has already been allocated by Congress.
Here’s what lawmakers have responded so far:
• Sen. Patty Murray of Washington state and Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut — the top Democratic appropriators in Congress — wrote to the White House on Monday night outlining their “extreme alarm” with the move. “The scope of what you are ordering is breathtaking, unprecedented, and will have devastating consequences across the country,” they said.
• Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer quickly criticized the move. “Congress approved these investments and they are not optional; they are the law,” the New York Democrat said. “These grants help people in red states and blue states, support families, help parents raise kids, and lead to stronger communities.”
• Senate Majority Leader John Thune defended President Donald Trump’s actions and said people should wait and see what may happen. “We’ll see kind of what the extent of it is and what they’re, you know, what they intend to do in a more fulsome way. But for now, I think it’s just this is kind of a preliminary step that I think most administrations make,” he said.
• Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole, chairman of the House Appropriations committee, told CNN’s Manu Raju on the sidelines of the House GOP conference in Doral, FL on Tuesday he doesn’t “have a problem” with the White House decision to pause federal aid. “I’m not a lawyer, I can’t pontificate on what’s legal but I suspect what’s happening is what most Republicans would be supportive of,” he said. “Appropriations is not a law, it’s the directive of Congress.”
• Kentucky Rep. Andy Barr said the pause on aid was “welcome” and in line with Trump’s effort to review government spending while calling concerns about the impact on the freeze to medical research and food assistance programs “overblown.”
• Utah Rep. Blake Moore, the vice chair of the House GOP conference, acknowledged some of the “angst” around the freeze, but insisted the move is important to make sure federal spending is “compliant.” “The federal government spends a lot of money, we want to just make sure it’s going to the right places, it’s compliant,” he said. “It’s going to be okay.”
• Rhode Island Rep. Gabe Amo, a member of the House Committee on the Budget, said the move would “bring great pain” to red and blue communities alike. “This action will bring great pain to many — from community health centers to federal programs that help feed hungry kids to small businesses and non-profit organizations doing good work in our communities. People will suffer at the hands of this decision,” said Amo in a release.
• Illinois Rep. Mike Quigley said the administration was using kids as political pawns. “I can’t imagine this is what the American people wanted when President Donald Trump said he had a mandate. Kids not eating isn’t a part of any deal,” said Quigley to Jim Acosta on “CNN Newsroom.”
This post has been updated with additional lawmaker reactions.
