Trump suspends all federal grants and loans.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has ordered a freeze on all federal grants and loans. This could have a negative impact on education and healthcare, housing assistance, disaster relief and many other projects.
This information was given in an office order signed by Matthew Veith, the acting head of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), on Monday local time.
The matter was confirmed by separate reports from the BBC and Reuters.
The office order stated that the freeze was imposed to review federal funding to bring it into line with the president’s policies.
Earlier, the executive order signed by Trump last week included a decision to cancel the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) program.
The order also states that the use of federal resources for policies that are contrary to the president’s agenda is a waste of taxpayer money and does not contribute to the public good. Therefore, these grants and loans have been ordered to be frozen.
In addition, the office order claims that the federal government spent about $10 trillion in fiscal year 2024. Of which, more than $3 trillion was in grants and loans as financial assistance. But the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) showed their government spending in 2024 at $6.75 trillion. This suggests that there are many discrepancies in the OMB and CBO’s calculations. This issue needs clarification.
This suspension also includes foreign aid and allocations to non-governmental organizations (NGOs). However, it has been stated that personal assistance such as Social Security or Medicare money, food assistance, and disability benefits will be outside of this order.
Meanwhile, Democrats have reacted angrily to this move by the Trump administration. Senator Patty Murray and Congresswoman Rose DiLauro have called the decision “suffocating and unprecedented.” They also call this issue of withholding “Congress-approved money” a violation of the Constitution.
On the other hand, Representative Tom Emmer, the top Republican in the House of Representatives, said that Trump is only fulfilling his campaign promises.
Do Follow: greenbanglaonline24
