White House Rescinds Federal Aid Freeze In VA

Updated at 1:35 p.m. Wednesday: A federal aid freeze announced this week by the Trump Administration has been rescinded, multiple sources are reporting Wednesday afternoon.

CNN reported that it has obtained a memo from a Trump administration official communicating that the freeze is rescinded.

The New York Times also reported the freeze was rescinded, citing two sources familiar with the matter.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

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

Democratic representatives from Virginia shared relief that the White House withdrew its funding guidance.

"Good news, but we’ve got to keep at it and prevent the Trump Administration from implementing other harmful policies that hurt Virginians and our economy," Sen. Tim Kaine shared on social media.

In a statement, Sen. Mark Warner added, "Trump rescinded his order to defund the federal government because we raised holy hell about how disruptive it was going to be, But this fight isn’t over. He’ll try and sow chaos however he can. I promise to stand up to fight it."

Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, who represents the 10th Congressional District said, "I will continue to hold this Administration accountable every time it puts the American people at risk. Keep sharing your stories and speaking up, and I will continue to stand up for our community.

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VIRGINIA — 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 Virginia.

“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 Virginia 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.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a statement that he spoke to White House officials and confirmed individual assistance, disaster relief, school and child care funding, road funding and school meals funded were not affected. The governor said claims about the key services being cut off were a "partisan stunt to disseminate knowingly misleading information."

"President Trump is doing what an executive should do at the beginning of a term, which is find out where the money is and where it's going, not unlike what we did at the beginning of our term here in Virginia when we identified $1.4 billion in appropriated but unspent taxpayer money," Youngkin said.

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.”

Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat representing Virginia, said Tuesday morning he was working to get answers on what the funding freeze means.

"Trump’s new federal funding mandate could end disaster assistance, halt construction projects that are already underway, stop rural broadband expansion, pause essential cancer research, obstruct federal benefits, and more. It’s a chaotic, ridiculous move," Warner shared on X.

Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, a new member of Congress from Virginia, said a pause on funds approved by congress "isn’t just disruptive to federal agencies, state and local governments, and communities—it’s flat-out unconstitutional."

Rep. Gerry Connolly, another Democrat representing part of Northern Virginia, urged Republican majority leaders in Congress to intervene.

"Trump's unlawful federal funding freeze is causing mass confusion and panic across the country," Connolly tweeted. "Critical services are in limbo and there is no clarity from the White House or congressional Republicans."

Rep. Don Beyer, another representative from Northern Virginia, said in a statement that he will "fight this order in every way I can."

"The Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse in clear terms and Congress has carefully circumscribed presidential authorities when it comes to spending money obligated by law," said Beyer. "I am discussing legal and legislative remedies with my colleagues, and others harmed by this unlawful freeze are also pursuing legal challenges."

On the response from Republican colleagues in Congress, Beyer added, "I also note that Republicans in Congress know all of this is illegal and unconstitutional. They know it will have devastating consequences, including on their constituents. They have the power to halt all of this at any time, if they only had the courage."

Republican members of Congress from Virginia have not publicly commented on the funding pause.

As the Associated Press reported, Republicans in the Senate were working to find out how far the funding freeze would go. Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican representing North Carolina, believes the freeze wouldn't affect housing assistance for the disaster-impacted areas.

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.