Chaos ripples through country as Trump orders federal funding freezing – NBC10 Philadelphia

President Donald Trump threw the US government into panic and confusion on Tuesday by holding a federal funding, while his administration conducts a cross -image ideological review to proclaim progressive initiatives, which sets the stage for a constitutional clash over the control of taxpayers’ money.

Administrative officials said the decision to stop loans and grants – a financial lifeline for local authorities, schools and non -profit organizations around the country – was necessary to ensure expenses comply with Trump’s recent flash of executing orders. The Republican President wants to increase the production of fossil fuel, remove the protection of transnry people and end diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

But a guard formulated memo issued by Office of Management and Budget, combined with incomplete answers from the White House all day, left legislators, public officials and average Americans struggling to find out which programs would be affected by the break. Even temporary interruptions in funding can cause layoffs or delays in public services.

“This kind came out of the blue,” said David Smith, a spokesman for Shawnee Mission School District in Kansas, one of countless districts receiving federal funding. Now they are trying to find out what it means “based on zero information.”

Trump administration officials said that programs providing direct assistance to Americans would not be affected, such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Student Loans and Food Stamps. They also defended the financing break and said that Trump was following his promise to turn Washington upside down if selected for another period.

However, the effects were felt far from the country’s capital. Organizations such as Meals On Wheels, which receive federal money to deliver food to the elderly, were concerned about being cut off.

“The lack of clarity and uncertainty right now is to create chaos,” spokeswoman Jenny Young said. She said “seniors can panic without knowing where their next meals are coming from.”

The National Science Foundation postponed this week’s panels for reviewing appropriation applications. Pricichard officials, Alabama, feared that they would not receive infrastructure funding to solve their leaking drinking water system. Republican leaders in Louisiana said they “sought clarity” to ensure that nothing was “danger to the state’s economic stability.”

“Trump’s actions would create destruction in red and blue communities everywhere,” said Senator Patty Murray of Washington, the supreme Democrat of the Senate’s appropriation committee. “We are talking about our small towns, our cities, our school districts.”

The full extent of the administration’s review was described in a 51-page spreadsheet sent to federal agencies and seen by Associated Press. Each line was another government initiative, from pool safety to the tribe’s workforce development to special education.

Officials were instructed to answer a number of yes or no questions to all items on the list, including “Promote this program gender ideology?” Or “promoting this program or supporting abortion in any way?” The answers are due on 7 February.

Trillion of dollars is potentially under review. Grants that have been awarded but not used are also assumed to be stopped if they possibly violate one of Trump’s executive orders.

“The use of federal resources to promote Marxist justice, transgenderism and Green New Deal Social Engineering policies is a waste of taxpayers’ dollars that do not improve the daily lives of those we earn,” wrote Matthew Vaeth, the acting director of Office of Management and budget, in a memo that was distributed on Monday.

Vaeth wrote that “each agency must conduct a comprehensive analysis of all their federal financial aid programs to identify programs, projects and activities that may be implicated by any of the president’s executive orders.” He also wrote that the break should be implemented “to the extent allowed under applicable law.”

The break on grants and loans was scheduled to take effect at. 17 one, only one day after agencies were informed of the decision.

Democrats described the Trump administration’s decision as whimsical and illegal. They argued that the president was not entitled to one -sided to stop spending money allocated by Congress.

New York Attorney General Latitia James planned to pray a federal court in Manhattan to block the financing break.

“There is no doubt that this policy is ruthless, dangerous, illegal and constitutional,” she said.

Separately, a group of nonprofit organizations filed a lawsuit in Washington and said the financing break is “devoid of any legal basis or the barest rationale.”

The question dominated the first briefing as it was in the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. She said the administration was trying to be “good stewards” of public money by making sure there was no “more funding for transgenderism and wokeness.”

She denied that Trump deliberately challenged Congress to establish her dominance over the federal budget.

“He is just trying to make sure that tax money that goes out the door of this very bankruptcy city is actually in line with the will and priorities of the American people,” she said.

The Environmental Protection Agency confirmed that it would implement the break to “adjust federal expenses and actions with the will of the American people as expressed through President Trump’s priorities.” The Department of Energy also said it conducted a review of its expenses.

The financing stay is the latest example of how Trump exploits his power over the federal system to promote his conservative goals. Unlike in his first period, Trump and many members of his inner circle were not familiar with Washington when he reaches deep into the bureaucracy.

For example, federal employees are asked to report their colleagues if they try to continue diversity, justice and inclusion initiatives.

“They push the president’s agenda from scratch,” said Paul Light, an expert in the federal government and professor emeritus for public service at New York University.

He also said there are risks in Trump’s approach, especially with so many voters who depend on Washington.

“You can’t just trouble, trouble, trouble,” Light said. “You have to deliver.”

Fear of interruption in public services deteriorated as states reported problems with Medicaid -Financing Portal, where officials request a refund to provide healthcare to poor residents.

Democrats condemned the Trump administration and linked the issue to the financing stay.

But Leavitt said the portal would be back online soon.

“We have confirmed that no payments have been affected – they are still being processed and sent still,” she sent on social media.