Chill out, MSM – That Federal Aid freeze is still in force!

1 CommentBudget, Government, White House

Jeez, they’re having a hard job keeping up in the MSM. Look at the headless chicken response to the memo below.

Here’s the short version: The OMB issued a memo pausing federal grants and loans, but a federal judge stayed this order. OMB then rescinded the memo, making the case moot. They’re likely to issue more specific freezes to avoid broad injunctions and misinterpretation.

Here’s the longer version

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memo late on January 27, 2025, which ordered a temporary pause on all federal grants and loans. This directive was met with immediate legal challenges, leading to a federal judge issuing a temporary stay on the OMB’s memo on January 28, 2025. This stay meant that the implementation of the pause was halted until further notice from the court, specifically until 5 p.m. on February 3, 2025, for certain actions related to the disbursement of federal funds under open awards.

In response to this judicial action, the OMB rescinded the original memo. By rescinding the memo, the OMB effectively made the court case moot, as there was no longer an active directive to be stayed. This move can be seen as a strategic retreat to avoid a broader legal injunction that could apply to future, similar directives.

The expectation now is that the OMB will likely issue new, more targeted memos. These would presumably specify which programs or activities are to be frozen, aiming to prevent the broad application of injunctions and to counteract any misinterpretation or “false framing” of the issue. This strategy would allow the administration to align federal spending more closely with its priorities while minimizing legal challenges by making the scope of any freeze more explicit, and perhaps less sweeping.