Trump's federal budget funding freeze withdrawn - a real victory for American people and common sense - shows the checks and balances work

For those who don't know the background, as it was only in the news for a day or two, this was an unexpected, unprecedented, and likely illegal freeze on all US Federal funding which Trump requested with an executive order.

It meant that every grant, every payment throughout the entire US government had to be paused. The only exception they had was payments to individuals.

Axios describe this as “An astonishing reversal by the Trump administration”

Why it matters: It's an astonishing reversal by the Trump administration, a day after top officials defended the funding freeze — which a judge temporarily halted on Tuesday — as necessary to ensure all government spending was aligned with the president's vision.

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What they're saying: "This is an important victory for the American people whose voices were heard after massive pressure from every corner of this country — real people made a difference by speaking out," Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said in a statement.

https://www.axios.com/2025/01/29/federal-funding-freeze-memo-rescinded

First the administration explained it was not going to impact on payments to individuals

Then a judge paused it paused until Monday of the next week just minutes before it was due to go into force.

Soon after, 22 states filed a lawsuit aiming to halt the freeze altogether.

Then the OMD withdrew the order.

Later based on the lawsuit by those 22 states another judge ordered an indefinite pause on any action like that.

QUOTE STARTS

A judge with the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island has issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration's efforts to freeze payments for grants and other programs.

The Friday ruling stems from a lawsuit filed earlier this week by Democratic attorneys general in 22 states and the District of Columbia.

It is separate from a lawsuit filed by Democracy Forward and other non-profit groups that resulted in a separate federal judge's decision to temporarily block the plan as originally detailed in a memo by the Office of Management and Budget. The White House later rescinded that OMB memo, but stated that its review of federal funding remained in effect.

https://www.npr.org/2025/01/31/nx-s1-5282410/trump-spending-freeze-blocked-federal-judge

Based on the Associated Press report, it seems to have been typically unplanned and chaotic like so many actions of this administration as well as of Trumps first term.

The Trump administration hadn't worked out their answers in advance to what happens to Medicaid - which they later clarified would not be affected. This was the most obvious question of all that they could expect to be asked.

Then the OMB withdrew the order for the freeze.

It was a fight they could never win as it was clearly illegal.

This is the Associated Press story from after the judge called a pause but before this news that the OMB was going to withdraw the freeze.

QUOTE STARTS
Just minutes after AliKhan made her ruling [blocking the freeze to Monday], Democratic attorneys general from 22 states and the District of Columbia filed their own lawsuit seeking to block and permanently prevent the administration from cutting off federal funding. ... Jessica Morton, an attorney for the National Council of Nonprofits, which brought the suit, said the group has tens of thousands of members around the country who could be affected.

“Our client members have reported being extremely concerned about having to shutter if there’s even a brief pause,” Morton said. ... Trump administration officials said programs that provide direct assistance to Americans would not be affected, such as Medicare, Social Security, student loans and food stamps. But they sometimes struggled to provide a clear picture.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt initially would not say whether Medicaid was exempted from the freeze, but the administration later clarified that it was. ... Organizations like Meals on Wheels, which receives federal money to deliver food to the elderly, were worried about getting cut off.

“The lack of clarity and uncertainty right now is creating chaos,” spokeswoman Jenny Young said. She added that “seniors may panic not knowing where their next meals will come from.” ... “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,” Light said. “You’ve got to deliver.” https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-pause-federal-grants-aid-f9948b9996c0ca971f0065fac85737ce .