Donald Trump holds an Executive Order in the President's Room
(Pool/Getty)

‘Hey so this is insane’: Donald Trump freezes federal aid to determine which causes align with his agenda

In an unprecedented move for a U.S. President, Donald Trump plans to freeze nearly all federal aid beginning at 5:00 PM EST on January 28 while determining which programs align with his agenda.

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The news was relayed in a memo on January 27 from the Office of Management and Budget. During Trump’s presidential campaign, Trump and Elon Musk floated plans to dramatically restructure the government and significantly cut spending. Given that Musk cryptically warned voters to prepare for “hardship” during Trump’s presidency, many anticipated the pair would go after social programs and strip the most vulnerable people of federal assistance. Trump also threatened to use federal aid as leverage to force schools or states to comply with his agenda. At one point, he stated he wouldn’t send any money to schools that taught about slavery, while House Republicans began floating ideas to attach strings to disaster aid to California. Now, it appears Trump is fulfilling his threats and promises as he puts an indefinite freeze on almost all foreign and domestic federal aid.

Donald Trump freezes federal aid

America learned of the impending freeze in a vaguely worded late-night memo from the OMB. The memo discusses Trump’s “mandate to increase the impact of every federal taxpayer dollar” and notes that the government spent nearly $3 trillion in federal assistance in the 2024 Fiscal Year. However, it declares that the purpose of financial aid should be to advance “Administration priorities,” including “ending wokeness,” rather than aiding Americans. The memo calls for federal agencies to review all federal financial assistance programs to determine which are “consistent” with Trump’s agenda. During this review, “Federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all federal assistance.”

The pause begins on January 28, while agencies have until February 10 to send information on all their programs to the OMB. However, the memo offers no confirmed end date for the pause. Ways and Means Democrats shared the memo on X, writing, “Hey so this is insane.”

The memo specifies that Medicare and Social Security benefits and assistance “provided directly to individuals” won’t be impacted by the freeze. However, the language is quite vague, meaning that, aside from Medicare and Social Security, which are explicitly listed, many are uncertain about which other programs will be spared. Regardless, the order is still far-reaching, and Americans are bracing themselves for chaos and uncertainty as millions are likely to be impacted by the freeze. TikTok influencer Aaron Parnas shared a list of just some of the programs that could be affected, including “Funding for Medicaid … funding for school breakfast and lunch programs, section 8 rental assistance, Title I education grants, temporary assistance for needy families, state grants for child care, headstart programs … and the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program.”

Senate Democrats are pushing back against the order, warning that Trump’s move may be unlawful because it overrides Congress, which “approved these investments” and determined “they are not optional.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer predicted what the freeze would look like: “It will mean missed payrolls and rent payments and everything in between: chaos for everything from universities to non-profit charities.” The most concerning aspect, as mentioned above, is the fact that no one is certain which programs will be impacted and that there’s no indication of when this freeze will end.

Meanwhile, one must question the lawfulness of the President of the United States essentially threatening to withhold all aid unless Americans submit to the right-wing agenda. It’s exactly what he threatened to do to schools that teach history and California as it struggles to recover from devastating wildfires. Now, he is doing it to all of America — indefinitely holding aid until he’s certain every nonprofit, school, and healthcare facility meets his personal agenda.


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Rachel Ulatowski
Rachel Ulatowski is a Staff Writer for The Mary Sue, who frequently covers DC, Marvel, Star Wars, literature, and celebrity news. She has over three years of experience in the digital media and entertainment industry, and her works can also be found on Screen Rant, JustWatch, and Tell-Tale TV. She enjoys running, reading, snarking on YouTube personalities, and working on her future novel when she's not writing professionally. You can find more of her writing on Twitter at @RachelUlatowski.