The White House on Wednesday repealed a memo ordering a federal freeze on hundreds of billions of dollars in grants and loans, which triggered widespread panic among millions of people who rely on government aid.
This comes after a judge temporarily stopped the order on Tuesday, just hours after President Donald Trump signed it.
The judge halted the order until next Monday, after a group of organisations representing grant recipients filed the lawsuit.
According to the new letter issued on Wednesday, “the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Memorandum M-25-13, is rescinded.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, in a statement, said the administration was still pursuing a freeze.
“This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze. It is simply a rescission of the OMB memo, to end any confusion created by the court’s injunction,” she said.
Media Talk Africa recalls that earlier this week, the acting head of the White House budget office had instructed agencies to temporarily halt all activities related to obligations or disbursement of all federal financial assistance.
According to the White House, the move was intended to give the new administration time to assess which grants and loans aligned with their agenda.
However, the order sparked widespread confusion about which agencies and programmes would be impacted.
Responding to the latest move, Democrats shifted a news conference scheduled for Tuesday on Trump’s move to end birthright citizenship to condemn the freeze on all federal funding instead.
“What they’re basically doing is being lawless — to hurt families, to help their billionaire friends,” Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said.
He reiterated that Republicans would continue to attempt to block future funding, adding that they were only stopped because of the outcry from the public.
“I don’t think this would have happened, except for the outcry throughout America. And we in the Senate are working with our constituents to show that outcry. We’re going to keep fighting,” he added.
Schumer further stated that Trump should next revoke his nominee to lead the OMB.
Media Talk Africa gathered that the order was one of several Trump has issued since taking office, aimed at cutting the size of government and slashing federal spending.
Other orders target transgender rights and the automatic citizenship granted to anyone born in the US.
