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Originally published by The 19th

As widespread confusion continues over the funding freezes, programs serving women and children could be hit particularly hard.

by Amanda Becker

Editor’s note: The Office of Management and Budget on Wednesday rescinded its memo directing a freeze on federal grants and loans, one day after a federal judge temporarily blocked it. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on X of Wednesday’s OMB memo: “This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze. It is simply a recession of the OMB memo. Why? To end any confusion created by the court’s injunction. The President’s EO’s on federal funding remain in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented.”

The Trump administration tried to quell backlash on Tuesday to a directive that all federal agencies should “temporarily pause” all federal assistance, which advocates worried would hit social safety net programs like early learning and nutrition assistance programs.

Programs serving women and children would be hit particularly hard by a funding pause, advocates said, since nearly all of them are part of the government’s discretionary spending and are frequently put on the chopping block by fiscal conservatives.

Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) sent a letter Monday to federal agencies directing them to pause “all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance” by 5 p.m. Tuesday. The pause, the letter continued, “will provide the Administration time to review agency programs and determine the best uses of the funding for those programs consistent with the law and the President’s priorities,” specifically President Donald Trump’s initial executive orders, including those related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and “woke gender ideology.”

 

The OMB letter, which was first reported by independent journalist Marisa Kabas and later reviewed by The 19th, unleashed chaos across Washington. Calls flooded into Capitol Hill offices from both constituents and federal workers as agencies tried to sort out what the totality of its impacts might be in the coming weeks. On Tuesday, a second OMB memo, obtained by The Washington Post, attempted to clarify Monday’s letter but did little to reduce confusion.

Tuesday’s memo stated that “the pause does not apply across the board. It is expressly limited to programs, projects and activities implicated by the President’s Executive Orders.” It stated that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program  (SNAP), colloquially known as food stamps, will not be paused, nor will Medicaid, the government’s health insurance program for low-income people. The Tuesday memo was not signed, however, and experts told The 19th that agencies were still operating with a high degree of uncertainty, given that it also stated that “funds for small business, farmers, Pell grants, Head Start, rental assistance and other similar programs will not be paused” unless they related to Trump’s executive orders, which have wide-ranging application.

Specifically, programs “implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal,” according to Monday’s letter.

The White House did not respond to a request to discuss which programs will be most affected by the pause or to confirm that Tuesday’s unsigned directive superseded Monday’s, which was signed by OMB’s acting director, Matthew Vaeth.

Democrats are already preparing to challenge the pause directive in court. A coalition of nonprofit organizations that includes the American Public Health Association and SAGE, which advocates for older LGBTQ+ people, filed for a temporary restraining order.

Any pause could have outsized impacts on some initiatives. Nutrition programs for women and kids, SNAP and WIC, are likely to run into funding issues within 60 to 90 days if subjected to the pause, experts said.

Another program that could potentially be immediately impacted is Head Start, the early learning program for children from birth to age 5, experts said Tuesday.

Federal funds go directly to specific Head Start programs, which provide early childhood education via public preschool programs, as well as at home by offering support for expectant parents. These programs are funded for a year at a time but staggered, typically tied to the start of each school year in a given state. If a program received its year’s worth of funding on January 1, it is good for 11 more months, but if a program is due to receive its yearly funding on February 1, that money will likely be delayed or not show up if there are funding pauses.

At this point in the calendar year, states are also reporting back to the federal government, which partially funds the Head Start program, to balance their books by refunding unspent money or requesting reimbursement. A pause could impact those reimbursements, according to those familiar with the funding process. It is also the time of year when programs begin budgeting and hiring for the next school year, and having unfunded programs could lead to problems recruiting and retaining both educators and students.

“Some facilities will be fine, others will have to shutter — unless a billionaire comes forward to help them out,” said Bobby Kogan, a senior director of federal budget policy at the liberal-leaning Center for American Progress, who worked at the OMB during the Biden administration.

Amid the Trump administration’s attempt to clarify the scope of impact, Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy claimed the reimbursement system for the Head Start program in his home state of Connecticut had been shut down.

“Preschools cannot pay staff and will need to start laying off staff very soon and sending little kids home,” he wrote on X.

Some grantees under the federal Title X program, which supports family planning clinics that serve low-income people, are already preparing for a possible lapse in funding. Title X was created under President Richard Nixon and disburses hundreds of millions of dollars each year to fund clinics reaching millions of Americans, largely women.

“We will rely on private resources for the time being, but this is not a long-term solution,” said George Hill, president of Maine Family Planning, the state’s sole Title X grantee. “If there is litigation on this matter, we will collaborate in whatever useful way we can.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democratic leaders called for their Republican colleagues in the Senate to hit pause on confirmation proceedings for OMB nominee Russell Vought, who helped Trump withhold congressionally appropriated funds during the Republican president’s first term. Vought has taken the position that presidents have the authority to redirect or refuse to spend funds appropriated by Congress, which under the Constitution holds the power of the purse.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a briefing Tuesday with reporters that she had spoken with Vought, “and he told me to tell all of you that the line to his office is open for other federal government agencies across the board, and if they feel that programs are necessary and in line with the president’s agenda, then the Office of Management and Budget will review those policies.”

When a reporter at the briefing asked if any Medicaid recipient would see a cutoff because of the funding pause, Leavitt said: “I’ll check back on that and get back to you.”

Medicaid was not expected to be immediately affected by the pause, even before Tuesday’s follow-up memo, because its funding mechanism makes it a de facto entitlement program like Social Security or Medicare, though the long-term impacts of the pause are unknown, experts said.

Even still, Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden said that his staff had confirmed that Medicaid portals were down in all 50 states following the Monday night pause directive. The White House said they were aware of the outage and the portals should be back online shortly.

“This is funding that communities are expecting and this memo is creating chaos and confusion about whether these resources will be available to them,” Democratic Sen. Patty Murray said during the news conference. “Entire budgets and payrolls across the country are carefully hinging on these resources, we’re talking about our small towns, our cities, our school districts, our universities and a lot more: Will local Head Start facilities get their funding?”

Additional reporting by Shefali Luthra