White House Rescinds Federal Aid Freeze In MD

Updated at 2:45 p.m. Wednesday: A federal aid freeze announced this week by the Trump Administration has been rescinded, multiple sources are reporting Wednesday afternoon.

CNN reported that it has obtained a memo from a Trump administration official communicating that the freeze is rescinded.

The New York Times also reported the freeze was rescinded, citing two sources familiar with the matter.

On Tuesday, a federal judge had temporarily blocked the plan to halt the distribution of trillions of dollars in federal grants and loans until a hearing could be held Monday morning.

In response to the news that the White House had rescinded the freeze, newly sworn-in Sen. Angela Alsobrooks had a one-word response on X, formerly Twitter: "Good."

New Baltimore County Rep. Johnny Olszewski, told reporters that the administration's freeze sowed "chaos and fear" not just in Maryland, but throughout the country. He called Trump's executive order unconstitutional.

"The Trump Admin was forced to back down on its illegal OMB memo to cut vital services for our communities — as a direct result of Americans standing up & speaking out," said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat. "This is not the end of their plans that will harm our communities. We must and will stay vigilant."

Related: White House Rescinds Funding Freeze, Defusing Brewing Legal Battle

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MARYLAND — The Trump administration’s abrupt pause on trillions of dollars in federal grants and loans hit a roadblock late Tuesday when a federal district judge granted an administrative stay in the case.

NBC News reported the judge's ruling has paused the plan for a week and set a hearing for Monday morning.

The freeze in disbursements was meant to let the Trump administration conduct an ideological review of spending could cause widespread disruption in health care research, education programs and other initiatives in Maryland.

“The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve,” Matthew Vaeth, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, wrote in a memo late Monday.

The White House so far has offered few details about the scope of the freeze. While the full effect on Maryland programs is unclear, Trump administration officials clarified Tuesday that programs that provide direct assistance to Americans would not be affected, such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, student loans and food stamps. They also defended the funding pause, saying Trump was following through on his promise to turn Washington upside down if elected to a second term.

Amid uncertainty about federal programs, the Medicaid portal was experiencing an outage Tuesday. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon said his office confirmed that Medicaid portal outages were impacting all U.S. states.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that the White House is aware of the outage, that payments are still being processed and sent, and that the Medicaid portal will soon resume.

Gov. Wes Moore called the federal funding freeze an irresponsible action that has caused economic instability and chaos.

"The Trump-Vance Administration is trying to hold back money that has already been approved by Congress. These actions could potentially cost jobs, raise prices, and stifle economic growth in Maryland," Moore's statement said. "What’s more, these resources are intended for programs at places like Maryland schools, Maryland hospitals, and Maryland nonprofits — touching our first responders, seniors, and Marylanders from the Western Mountains to the Eastern Shore and everywhere in between. This is not what responsible government looks like — it’s chaos."

Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown joined a coalition of 22 states suing to stop the implementation of Trump's spending freeze.

“All Marylanders would be affected by this unconstitutional pause on federal funding, but those who would bear the brunt of the damage are our most vulnerable and marginalized neighbors who rely on these resources to pay for early childhood education, health care, and housing,” Brown said. “Our office uses federal resources to crack down on Medicaid fraud, protect elderly and disabled Marylanders from abuse, and ensure pricing for food remains affordable for everyone in our state.”

Democrats and independent organizations question the legality of the Republican administration’s funding freeze, characterizing it as capricious and illegal because Congress had already authorized the funding.

Court battles are imminent, and Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James plans to ask a Manhattan federal court to block the Republican president’s moves, calling it an “unconstitutional pause on federal funding.”

“More lawlessness and chaos in America as Donald Trump’s Administration blatantly disobeys the law by holding up virtually all vital funds that support programs in every community across the country," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, said in a statement. “If this continues, the American people will pay an awful price.”

The grants help people “in red states and blue states, support families, help parents raise kids, and lead to stronger communities,” Schumer said, adding that “it will mean missed payrolls and rent payments and everything in between: chaos for everything from universities to non-profit charities.”

Reaction From Maryland Lawmakers

City of Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott, City Council President Zeke Cohen, Comptroller Bill Henry, and the entire City Council issued a joint statement on the Trump Administration’s freeze on federal grant and loan funding, which they called politically motivated. City leaders pledget to do everything in their power to prevent the freeze from happening, including filing suit in federal court, which is in the works.

The statement said in part:

"By our initial estimation, this order puts potentially billions of dollars destined for our city at risk. … What we do know now is that the impacts will be devastating. It will make it harder for hard-working Baltimoreans to feed their families and make ends meet, it will severely hamper our law enforcement and civilian violence intervention work from making our streets safer, it will mean our most vulnerable residents will lose access to services, and it will temporarily halt many efforts to strengthen our city’s aging infrastructure."

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, called Trump's freeze on funds an "ILLEGAL impoundment of funds approved by Congress. We will fight by this with everything we’ve got.

"This is political vandalism," Van Hollen added on X, formerly Twitter. "Taking a wrecking ball to federal agencies does nothing to make government more efficient but it is already doing grave damage to people and programs throughout the country."

Democatic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Montgomery County said he will fight with Van Hollen and newly elected Sen. Angela Alsobrooks to restore full funding to the National Health Institutes and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

"President Trump just shut down external communications, hiring, and other agency functions at NIH — a devastating blow to their lifesaving medical research," Raskin said on X.

New Congressman Johnny Olszewski Jr. questioned if the budget freeze is legal.

"This is certainly outside of the norms of our democratic system, and it may also be outside the legal bounds, too," he wrote on X. "Either way, it’s wrong. And what’s next? Your social security, healthcare?"

When Budget Pause Kicks In

The pause takes effect at 5 p.m. ET Tuesday, and it's unclear from the memo how sweeping it will be. Vaeth said that all spending must comply with Trump's executive orders, which are intended to undo progressive steps on transgender rights, environmental justice and diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, efforts.

Vaeth wrote that “each agency must complete a comprehensive analysis of all of their Federal financial assistance programs to identify programs, projects, and activities that may be implicated by any of the President’s executive orders.”

Washington is a hub of spending that flows to various departments, local governments, nonprofits and contractors, and the memo has left countless people who are dependent on that money wondering how they will be affected.

The pause is the latest example of how Trump is harnessing his power over the federal system to advance his conservative goals. Unlike during his first term, when Trump and many members of his inner circle were unfamiliar with Washington, this time he's reaching deep into the bureaucracy.

“They are pushing the president’s agenda from the bottom up," said Paul Light, an expert on the federal government and professor emeritus of public service at New York University.

He also said there are risks in Trump's approach, especially with so many voters reliant on Washington.

“You can’t just hassle, hassle, hassle. You’ve got to deliver.”

“Are you stopping NIH cancer trials?” Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, wrote on social media, referring to the National Institutes of Health.

Sen. Patty Murray of Washington and Rep. Rose DeLauro of Connecticut, the top Democrats on the Senate and House appropriations committees, expressed “extreme alarm” in a letter to Vaeth.

"This Administration’s actions will have far-reaching consequences for nearly all federal programs and activities, putting the financial security of our families, our national security, and the success of our country at risk," they wrote.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.