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Evening Report

TRUMP FIRST 100 DAYS

© Mark Schiefelbein, Associated Press

Trump provokes a firestorm with federal freeze

PRESIDENT TRUMP SENT WASHINGTON into a frenzy with his sweeping move to freeze federal assistance programs, which provoked lawsuits, outrage and confusion about the status of government programs.

The abrupt action, issued through a memo from the budget office late Monday night, put a pause on most federal loans and grants, while requiring a review period to ensure the spending aligns with Trump’s executive orders.

The White House insists the freeze is not a “blanket pause” on all federal assistance programs, saying that Social Security, Medicare, food stamps and other welfare benefits would not be impacted.

“If you are receiving individual assistance from the federal government, you will continue to receive that,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during her first official press briefing.

However, Democratic lawmakers said their states had been blocked from the Medicaid payment portal. Although, by Tuesday afternoon, some states reported they had regained access to the portal.

“This is a blatant attempt to rip away health insurance from millions of Americans overnight and will get people killed,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) posted on X.

The White House claimed the Medicaid portal outage was unrelated to the federal freeze.

"No payments have been affected — they are still being processed and sent," Leavitt posted on X. "We expect the portal will be back online shortly."

Federal agencies have have until Feb. 10 to review whether loans and grants should be eliminated due to the executive orders Trump issued on border security, the federal workforce, the military, the “weaponization” of government, and other actions he's signed during his first eight days in office.

States and local governments have been combing through the broadly worded memo to determine what programs will be on the chopping block.

Some of the programs that receive funding through federal assistance programs, including those that provide meals to low-income children and seniors, reported uncertainty about whether they’d been impacted.

The Department of Education issued a statement Tuesday saying the pause would not affect federal student loans or Pell grants.

LEGALITY QUESTIONED

Democrats believe the freeze is illegal because Congress controls appropriations.

“Congress approved these investments, and they are not optional. They are the law,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said.

The Trump administration is arguing that the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is illegal, and that prior to that, presidents had power to withhold congressional spending.

Democrats are desperate for a way to thwart Trump’s move.

Democratic-run states, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, are suing to block the freeze.

Senate Democrats are pushing to postpone a vote scheduled Thursday on Russell Vought, who Trump tapped to lead the Office of Management and Budget.

“Trump’s actions would wreak havoc in red and blue communities everywhere,” said Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.), the ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee. “This is funding that communities are expecting, and this memo is creating chaos and confusion.”

Nearly two dozen Senate Democrats flipped their votes to “no” on Sean Duffy’s nomination to lead the Transportation Department.

Duffy’s nomination advanced 97-0 Monday. After the federal freeze announcement on Tuesday, Duffy was confirmed in a 77-22 vote, signaling that any Democratic goodwill around advancing Trump’s nominees has evaporated with the drop of the new budget memo.

Some Republicans are expressing discomfort with Trump’s latest move, such as Sen. Susan Collins (Maine), the chair of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee.

“I think there is benefit in taking a look at federal spending. But this is far too sweeping and will have an adverse effect on the delivery of services and programs.”

“I do appreciate that the administration did not apply it to Social Security, Medicare direct benefit programs, but nevertheless it does have a large impact on the provision of a lot of services and programs."

FIRINGS FALLOUT

Democrats are up in........

© The Hill