White House pauses federal grant, loan other assistance programs

This is a temporary pause and a freeze to ensure that all of the money going out from Washington D.C. is aligned with the president's agenda,

she added

Erwin Chemerinskyan American dean, professor, lawyer, and author

The law forbids presidential impoundment of funds, but under certain circumstances allows a brief delay and gives the president means to ask Congress to reconsider an appropriation, known as rescission...Trump has not made the required notifications to Congress, and so his order this week to halt spending is patently illegal."

Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, in an article for the Los Angeles Times

The only way Trump can proceed with impoundment is if the [Impoundment Control Act] is unconstitutional and Train is reversed,

Vance added

Joyce Vanceformer federal prosecutor

Can a president unilaterally substitute their own funding decisions for those of Congress?"

Joyce Vance said Thursday

Karoline Leavittpress secretary

The past four years, we've seen the Biden administration spend money like drunken sailors. It's a big reason we've had an inflation crisis in this country, and it's incumbent upon this administration to make sure, again, that every penny is being accounted for honestly."

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, at a Tuesday briefing

Not a blanket pause on federal assistance and grant programs from the Trump administration. If you are receiving individual assistance from the federal government, you will still continue to receive that. However, it is the responsibility of the president and this administration to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars."

White House

Tim Kainesenator

President Trump's order to halt all federal grant and loan programs is illegal and dangerous. From disaster recovery, to job-creating manufacturing investments, Virginians are counting on federal resources. I'll do all I can to urge the Administration to reverse this decision."

Senator Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, wrote on X

Trump and Rs promised to lower prices on "day one" & fight rich special interests. They keep doing the opposite. Trump just abused power to raise energy costs, kill manufacturing jobs, and stop child cancer research. All to cut taxes for billionaires."

Andrew Bates, a former White House spokesperson, wrote on X

Under my plan, American workers will no longer be worried about losing their jobs to foreign nations. Instead, foreign nations will be worried about losing their jobs to Americans. German car companies can become American car companies. We can beat China in electronic production. Manufacturers that have left us will come sprinting back to our shores,

Trump wrote in an October Newsweek opinion article

We remain optimistic for a swift and thoughtful resolution, confident that programs like ours align with and advance the administration's goals to strengthen American manufacturing and drive innovation,

he said

While federal funding is just one component of how we sustain and grow our operations, this decision introduces added challenges as we continue to serve New Jersey's manufacturing community,

he said

The American people elected Donald J. Trump to be President of the United States and gave him a mandate to increase the impact of every federal taxpayer dollar,

Vaeth's memo reads

We write with extreme alarm about the Administration’s efforts to undermine Congress’s power of the purse, threaten our national security, and deny resources for states, localities, American families, and businesses,

the letter reads

Not to be alarmist, but this is the most radical presidential action I've ever seen,

Indivisible co-executive director Ezra Levin said in a statement

Chuck Schumersenate Minority Leader

Every one of our offices has been deluged with calls from people who are in panic,

Schumer said

The lack of clarity and uncertainty right now is creating chaos for local Meals on Wheels providers not knowing for sure whether they should be serving meals today,

the group said in a statement

Russ Vought is illegally carrying out his ideological agenda with greatest harm to the most vulnerable — including many in the working class and rural communities who voted for Trump,

he continued

Ben Jealoussierra Club executive director

In issuing a sweeping halt to federal funding, grants and loans, Donald Trump has... immediately and significantly put Americans in danger,

Sierra Club executive director Ben Jealous

While we understand that this is an evolving story, this disruption, at best, will slow down Head Start agencies’ ability to pay hundreds of thousands of staff, contractors, and small businesses who support Head Start operations in every corner of the country,

Yasmina Vinci, executive director of the National Head Start Association, said

We’re hearing from members who are concerned, and unsure how this could impact existing loans or loans already in the pipeline,

Todd McCracken, president of the National Small Businesses Association, said in a statement