The White House’s memorandum ordering a freeze of all federal funding has been rescinded as of today.
“OMB Memorandum M-25-13 is rescinded. If you have questions about implementing the President’s Executive Orders, please contact your agency General Counsel,” a memo obtained by CNN reads. No further official information or clarification has been provided.
On Monday, Jan. 27, the White House Office of Management and Budget issued the memo, with plans for it to go into effect on Jan. 28 at 5 p.m. EST.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary for the Trump administration, posted on X Jan. 29 at 1:40 p.m. EST that only the memo was rescinded, not the order.
“This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze. It is simply a rescission of the OMB memo,” the post read. “The President’s EO’s [sic] on federal funding remain in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented.”
On Tuesday, Jan. 28, U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan issued a stay on the Office of Management and Budget’s freeze order, minutes before it would come into effect at 5 p.m. EST. This came in response to a lawsuit filed by the National Council of Nonprofits. The stay will remain in effect until Monday, Feb. 3, at 5 p.m. EST; AliKhan will hear oral arguments Monday morning.
Various states, nonprofits and small businesses have filed lawsuits in response to the order. The most significant argument is that a presidential order to withhold federal funds violates Congressional law.
The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is a federal law that prevents the executive branch from withholding funds that Congress has allocated. The act specifies that the president may request that Congress rescind these funds, but both the Senate and the House must pass legislation approving the rescission for it to pass.
Trump has encountered this act before in late 2019 to early 2020, when the OMB was found to have withheld $214 million of Ukraine military funds from the Department of Defense.
The Jan. 29 memo from the OMB only states that the original memo has been rescinded. It is uncertain whether agencies will still be required to enforce it, and the multiple contradictory sources from the White House continue to cause confusion.
The situation remains unclear on the effects of the freeze.
Dakota Steffen can be reached at arg-news@uidaho.edu.