Patterico's Pontifications

1/28/2025

About Trump’s Aid Freeze

Filed under: General — Dana @ 3:25 pm



[guest post by Dana]

Just now:

Judge pauses parts of Trump aid freeze: A federal judge has temporarily blocked part of the Trump administration’s plans to freeze all federal aid. The White House budget office had ordered the pause on federal grants and loans Monday. The memo, which had been slated to take effect at 5 p.m. ET today, could have potentially impacted trillions in government spending and halted public programs that affect millions of Americans.

[It’s tough keeping up with all of the decisions Trump is making, as well as the fallout of them! By the time one has worked up thoughts about them, the situation has changed. . .]

—Dana

50 Responses to “About Trump’s Aid Freeze”

  1. Hello.

    Dana (8601be)

  2. Judge pauses parts of Trump aid freeze:…

    … could have potentially impacted trillions in government spending…

    So the “parts” are in the trillions?

    BuDuh (7a5fe0)

  3. This is why we MUST have nice things. Like CA’s Merced-Modesto $100 billion train.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  4. It’s tough keeping up with all of the decisions Trump is making, as well as the fallout of them!

    1) That is part of the point. You won’t stop all of them.
    2) For every judge there’s an appeals court.
    3) He will come at each of these things another way.

    Also, Peggy Noonan last week:

    It was another Trumpian triumph. Talk about energy in the executive. President Trump is flooding all zones, throwing whole pots of spaghetti against the wall. The spirit is Teddy Roosevelt, high dynamism and canny show business, though the new president has taken to referring to TR’s more orderly predecessor, William McKinley.

    Mr. Trump successfully turned the page. He established this feeling: The past is sodden, the future electric.

    As he sat at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office Monday night, holding an impromptu news conference—this was after he gave an inaugural address, a long, ad libbed postinaugural speech to the overflow crowd, a Capitol One Arena speech accompanied by the public signing of executive orders, and before the sword dancing at the first of three inaugural balls—as he sat at the Resolute desk simultaneously taking questions and signing more executive orders—this one makes clear the United States owns Saturn—I realized three things:

    I once wrote of him as Chief Crazy Horse but as he signed, I thought of . . . an old nickname for Tom Brokaw. Years ago his producers marveled at his stamina—he could sit in that anchor chair and go live all day and all night, he was indefatigable, never lost focus, he didn’t even have to use the bathroom. They called him “Duncan the Wonder Horse.” That was Mr. Trump this week.

    Donald the Wonder Horse.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  5. Old version: There is no way Trump can cut spending!
    New version: We won’t let Trump cut spending!

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  6. OMB attempts to walk back freeze order.

    ………
    The budget office caused confusion when it issued a memo Monday ordering federal agencies to pause grants and loans. The directive, according to the Tuesday memo, only applies to programs specifically related to certain programs the Trump administration finds objectionable, including those related to diversity, transgender inclusion, and climate change, among others.
    ………

    Needless to say the Monday memo only mentioned exemptions for Medicare and Social Security, which are paid directly to individuals, and not Medicaid, which is a block grant to the states. This would explain why states can’t access the Medicaid funding portal.

    I’m sure there will be a Wednesday memo.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  7. As somebody said to me the other day: “It’s going to be along four years.”

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  8. this one makes clear the United States owns Saturn

    That appears to be sarcasm, not real.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  9. Veteran’s programs listed in the grant freeze:

    Grants to States for Construction of State Home Facilities

    Veterans State Domiciliary Care

    Veterans State Nursing Home Care

    VA Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program

    Veterans State Adult Day Health Care

    Post 9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance

    Life Insurance for Veterans Direct Payments for Insurance

    Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserve

    VA Supportive Services for Veteran Families Program

    VA Grants for Adaptive Sports Programs for Disabled Veterans

    Veterans Transportation Program

    VA U S Paralympics Monthly Assistance Allowance Program

    CHAMPVA

    Specially Adapted Housing Assistive Technology Grant

    Payments to States for Programs to Promote the Hiring and

    Research and Development

    Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant

    Legal Services for Veterans Grants

    Suicide Mortality Review Cooperative Agreements

    Veteran and Spouse Transitional Assistance Grant Program

    Automobiles and Adaptive Equipment for Certain Disabled Vet

    Burial Expenses Allowance for Veterans

    Pension for Non Service Connected Disability for Veterans

    Pension to Veterans Surviving Spouses, and Children

    Specially Adapted Housing for Disabled Veterans

    Veterans Compensation for Service Connected Disability

    Veterans Dependency and Indemnity Compensation for

    Veterans Housing Guaranteed and Insured Loans

    Veteran Readiness and Employment

    Survivors and Dependents Educational Assistance

    Veterans Housing Direct Loans for Certain Disabled Veterans

    Post Vietnam Era Veterans’ Educational Assistance

    All Volunteer Force Educational Assistance

    Vocational and Educational Counseling for Service members

    Native American Veteran Direct Loan Program

    Monthly Allowance for Children of Vietnam Veterans Born with

    Vocational Training and Rehabilitation Benefits for Children of Vietnam Vet

    Veteran Rapid Retraining Assistance Program

    National Cemeteries

    Procurement of Headstones and Markers and/or

    Veterans Cemetery Grants Program

    Veterans Legacy Grants Program

    VA Casket or Urn Allowance Program

    VA Outer Burial Receptacle Allowance Program

    aphrael (868202)

  10. None of these are about dei, illegal immigrants, or trans issues.

    So the claim the administration is making that the only things frozen are related to those is …a lie.

    aphrael (868202)

  11. From Rip’s link:

    White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on the social network X Tuesday afternoon that the White House was aware of the portal outage. “We have confirmed no payments have been affected — they are still being processed and sent. We expect the portal will be back online shortly.”

    And later in the article the author confirms:

    There are no signs yet that Medicaid enrollees have had delays in their care, or that hospitals, doctors, and health plans have not been paid.

    BuDuh (7a5fe0)

  12. My least favorite part of this is that there are ongoing federally funded clinical trials which are being cancelled because the monitoring can’t be paid for during the review.

    aphrael (868202)

  13. As press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during her briefing today:

    Asked directly whether she could guarantee “that no individual now on Medicaid will now see a cut-off because of the pause,” Leavitt responded: “I’ll check back on that and get back to you.”

    It’s not really whether any particular individual has had a delay in their care, it is that the states are unable to access their grants through the portal. We have no idea what is being delayed: grant reporting, disbursements, etc.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  14. So the issue is that you don’t know what is going on?

    BuDuh (7a5fe0)

  15. So the “parts” are in the trillions?

    I think the key word here is “ptentially”

    Thinking about this, this is probably legal, (but sure to contain things that almost no one would want to stop) provided it is very temporary. Nothing appropriated, has to go out the door the first day, or is intended to.

    But, look, Biden had a chance to send some money out the door before January 20, and anything he or his people wanted to rush that they thought Trump wouldn’t approve, they did, and probably nothing is being rushed out the door now.

    President Biden (especially?) had a tendency not to spend an appropriation quickly, to give his administration more flexibility.

    If it was near the end of the fiscal year, or even within the last three months, so that there was a risk the money would not be spent without going through the rescission process there would be a problem, but there is no indication as of yet that Trump intends to do that, but this way there isn’t, except that certain people were promised money or grants had even ben made but were not yet processed.

    We are also getting what Senator Katie Britt (R- Alabama, has called “malicious compliance” (when the Air Force used an order to get rid of DEI programs and anything disguised as a DEI program) to get rid of two videos “that taught basic training students about the Tuskegee Airmen and the Women Air Force Service Pilots.”

    Or that may be because he’s causing an environment of fear (of being fired or transferred.)

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  16. aphrael (868202) — 1/28/2025 @ 4:13 pm

    So the claim the administration is making that the only things frozen are related to those is …a lie.

    I think White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt cited four things like that as examples. But those were the only examples she cited. So it was misleading, but not a lie.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  17. aphrael (868202) — 1/28/2025 @ 4:22 pm

    My least favorite part of this is that there are ongoing federally funded clinical trials which are being cancelled because the monitoring can’t be paid for during the review.

    An example of something that should not be cut.

    But could this be malicious? What would happen during a government shutdown?

    I guess they’d be verbally promised money later, but here there’s no guarantee. And also you know when a government shutdown is coming.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  18. Of course it’s because he’s creating an atmosphere of fear.

    aphrael (868202)

  19. The Administration needs to explain why the Medicaid portal is down. Was it hacked; scheduled maintenance they didn’t tell anyone about; or administration policy. Unfortunately Dr. Oz hasn’t been confirmed yet.

    So far, silence.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  20. What is the threshold? Should they tell you faster than the previous administration’s information on the drones?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wzr12gBrXA8

    BuDuh (7a5fe0)

  21. The spigots will be turned back on as soon as Della Quinta Strada figures out how to funnel the money to those who supported him but not to those who did not support him.

    And they will be turned back on even if he does not entirely figure it out, because it is only a matter of time before his margins in the House and Senate start worrying about their own 2026 reelections.

    nk (e63f18)

  22. Trump is offering to buy out two million federal employees. Basically, folks who want to quit will do so, whether they’re good employees or the suckass kind. Since it’s across-the-board, the measure could empty one office and leave another fully intact, regardless of how any office actually performs.

    President Donald Trump’s administration is offering federal workers the chance to take a “deferred resignation,” which would mean they agree now to resign but get paid through September.

    A senior administration official told NBC News that they expect 5%-10% of the federal workforce to quit, which, they estimate, could lead to around $100 billion in savings.
    […]
    The offer went out to the federal workforce through a new system the Trump administration set up that gives officials the ability to email all federal employees at once.

    The email included a draft resignation letter for them to review. If a person wishes to resign, they will be able to reply with the word “resign.”

    The resignation period will begin Tuesday and go through Feb. 6.

    Oh, and this effort is part of Project 2025, the plan that Trump repudiated on the campaign trail. Page 78…

    Simply reducing numbers can actually increase costs. OMB instructions following President Trump’s employment freeze told agencies to consider buyout programs, encouraging early retirements in order to shift costs from current budgets in agencies to the retirement system and minimize the number of personnel fired.

    Paul Montagu (3bccc6)

  23. Another thing. The first time Trump went up against the Impoundment Control Act involved was in 2019, when he froze military aid to Ukraine in order to get his quid pro quo. This time around, he violated the law on a much grander scale.

    Paul Montagu (3bccc6)

  24. Impoundment was a reliable way for presidents to trim the deficit before congressional democrats prohibited it. Too bad: there has been no effective control since 1969, and the deficits keep growing.

    Harcourt Fenton Mudd (bc8284)

  25. Trump is really in action. Democratic base is upset that party establishment leaders say their donor class corporate masters say they are only allowed to whine or their insider trading might get investigated. If you have nothing to lose you have nothing to fear. But! Nancy pelosi and paul have a lot to lose so they will just whine.

    asset (dc7e6d)

  26. But! Nancy pelosi and paul have a lot to lose so they will just whine.

    Cheap shot. This is about the rule of law.

    Paul Montagu (3bccc6)

  27. Impoundment Control Act

    The Act is either unnecessary or unconstitutional. Congress could not assert the power if it did not have it already. Pretty sure the courts had ruled against Nixon prior to this act. Of course, that court also ruled for Roe and today’s court might rule differently.

    Does the Constitution give Congress the power to compel spending? Or simply to authorize it?

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  28. Remember, our spending path is unsustainable.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  29. Our spending path better be sustainable as the top 1% has more wealth then the bottom 90% (CBS news money watch) The wealthy can only control the democrat party from Bernie Sanders, AOC and the rest of the squad if government programs can buy off the bottom 90% so they have something. Republicans let them eat cake didn’t work to well the last time it was tried. Democrat establishment corporatists have been discredited by trump twice and the party base is furious with them. Soon tax the rich, feed the poor, tax the rich till they aint rich no more! 2026 will be like 2018 when the 10 million democrats who didn’t vote in 2024 will come back with a vengeance. In the unlikely event trump succeeds that will be even worse for the democrat establishment.

    asset (dc7e6d)

  30. 29 No one will try to control the deficits by limiting the insane spending the old fashioned way. Nixon tried to tamp down JBJ’s insane spending and the resulting inflation and he was excoriated. Impoundment Act was enacted. So no one wants to be the adults. And the debt keeps going up and the poor and working classes will be the hardest hit when the party stops, as it eventually must. But since 2000, both parties have kept adding to the tab instead of just cutting.

    Harcourt Fenton Mudd (55a6ba)

  31. Amazing to see so many self-proclaiming conservatives tying themselves in knots over a limited spending freeze while we try to figure out what is being spent.

    Before Trump, this would’ve been the dream of a conservative since we know the government loses billions (now possibly trillions) due to fraud and waste.

    It’s almost like principles don’t matter.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  32. 2026 will be like 2018 when the 10 million democrats who didn’t vote in 2024 will come back with a vengeance. In the unlikely event trump succeeds that will be even worse for the democrat establishment.

    asset (dc7e6d) — 1/28/2025 @ 11:42 pm

    You’re always dreaming of becoming Venezuela. Why don’t you just move there?

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  33. @HFC, I like the idea of cutting spending, but congress controls the budget and the executive needs to faithfully execute what they’ve authorized. Having the executive take even more power from congress creates its own problems.

    Additionally cutting programs for things congress authrized but the executive dislikes isn’t productive and likely leads to appearance of budgetary constraint without the results.

    But we’ll see. Trump was pretty incompetent in his first term. Maybe this one will be different.

    Time123 (a43db0)

  34. @27

    Does the Constitution give Congress the power to compel spending? Or simply to authorize it?

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 1/28/2025 @ 10:55 pm

    Doesn’t it compel? It’s a law.

    Like, Social Security… those are automatic and not sure if POTUS could stop it even if he wanted to. Right?

    The discretionary budget, though, might be something POTUS have the ability to turn off/on on a whim.

    whembly (c87394)

  35. My understanding of the constitution is that congress sets the budget and the executive branch executes it.

    So (for instance) if congress authorizes that money be spent of border patrol, studies on the linkage between fluoride in the water and homosexuality, and keep schools from teaching that Washington owned slaves the executive branch can’t refuse to do those things.

    Time123 (a43db0)

  36. My comment is this. It appears that Trump has gone through his list of campaign promises and is trying to address them as EOs. Some are more successful than others — but it does suggest that he is determined to keep his core voters happy. Also, this governance approach reminds me on how he handled Biden in the debates — flooding the zone with so much confidently expressed nonsense that the opposition has no oxygen to respond.

    Eventually, he runs out of material. The courts reject the outrageous stuff. The Democrats decide to filibuster everything and refuse to deal on the Debt Limit until Trump stops trying to take over the Power of the Purse. The question is: “what then?”

    Appalled (4684fe)

  37. Like, Social Security… those are automatic and not sure if POTUS could stop it even if he wanted to. Right?

    Social Security is an entitlement — the law gives citizens the right to receive funds. A law saying that X billion shall be spent on funding cancer research is different; there may not be useful research to support on the margin. A law saying that X billion shall be spent on a high-speed rail line that everyone knows is a grafty boondoggle isn’t in the same league.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  38. The Democrats decide to filibuster everything and refuse to deal on the Debt Limit

    There are political risks to being the last defenders of the administrative state.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  39. So, what does the Constitution say, actually, about this:

    I.8:

    [a number of direct responsibilities]

    To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

    I.9:

    No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.

    II.1:

    The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America

    II.2:

    The President … may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices…

    He … shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.

    II.3:

    he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed

    There is nothing here that says that the President may not make executive judgements on whether (or how) to spend appropriated money. He clearly may not spend money that has NOT been appropriated (something Biden repeatedly tired), but unless a clear right to receive appropriated money is in law (e.g. Social Security or federal employee pay and benefits), I don’t see the requirement that he spend any particular dime.

    For example, if he declines to spend money for transsexual medical research, who has standing to sue? No one is due the money (other by existing contract) and Congress does not generally identify recipients of grants.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  40. Does the Constitution give Congress the power to compel spending? Or simply to authorize it?

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 1/28/2025 @ 10:55 pm

    Appropriation acts define how money can be spent and on what. The Spending Clause is the first enumerated power of Congress in Article I. There is nothing in the Constitution that authorizes the Executive Branch to refuse to spend funds appropriated by Congress, unless Congress delegates such discretion to the Executive. Nor is there a power for the Executive Branch to add conditions that are not germane to the federal grants. For example, neither President Trump or Congress can condition any aid to California for the wildfires until the state enacts a voter ID and change its water policies, as neither of which are related to disaster relief.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  41. There is nothing here that says that the President may not make executive judgements on whether (or how) to spend appropriated money. ……or example, if he declines to spend money for transsexual medical research, who has standing to sue? No one is due the money (other by existing contract) and Congress does not generally identify recipients of grants.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 1/29/2025 @ 9:28 am

    And there is nothing that says the President has that power. Presumably Congress would have standing to sue to compel enforcement of its appropriation.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  42. Presumably Congress would have standing to sue to compel enforcement of its appropriation.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/29/2025 @ 9:36 am

    Correction:

    Under the Impoundment Control Act, the General Accountability Office has the statutory authority to sue the agency to make the budget authority available (2 USC 17B Sec. 687.)

    If, under this chapter, budget authority is required to be made available for obligation and such budget authority is not made available for obligation, the Comptroller General is hereby expressly empowered, through attorneys of his own selection, to bring a civil action in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to require such budget authority to be made available for obligation, and such court is hereby expressly empowered to enter in such civil action, against any department, agency, officer, or employee of the United States, any decree, judgment, or order which may be necessary or appropriate to make such budget authority available for obligation. No civil action shall be brought by the Comptroller General under this section until the expiration of 25 calendar days of continuous session of the Congress following the date on which an explanatory statement by the Comptroller General of the circumstances giving rise to the action contemplated has been filed with the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  43. In addition to the Impoundment Control Act, there are:

    The Purpose Statute (31 U.S.C. § 1301(a)), which defines how an agency may apply appropriations. “Appropriations shall be applied only to the objects for which the appropriations were made except as otherwise provided by law.”

    The Antideficiency Act (31 U.S.C. §§ 1341-42, 1349-51, 1511-19) which ensures that obligations and expenditures remain within the amounts granted by Congress.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  44. The freeze is rescinded, axios reports.

    Appalled (84f334)

  45. The freeze is rescinded, axios reports.

    Appalled (84f334) — 1/29/2025 @ 11:00 am

    As I predicted.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  46. Our spending path must be sustainable because some people are rich?

    When I was young, I backpacked around overseas and lived very frugally.
    And by the simple virtues of being American with a credit card with a limit of $1000, I was often the wealthiest person for miles. Put me back in the States, and I was solidly at the lower end of the middle class.

    Should they have taxed me $900? $990?

    steveg (25c199)

  47. Rip, this is what I meant about Trump demonstrating incompetence. If his goal was governing / policy change. If it was media attention this worked well.

    Time123 (257a59)

  48. Rip, this is what I meant about Trump demonstrating incompetence. If his goal was governing / policy change. If it was media attention this worked well.

    Time123 (257a59) — 1/29/2025 @ 12:55 pm

    I’m sure we will see the same regarding birthright citizenship. Performance art.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  49. The funding freeze in particular programs is still frozen under prior EOs

    Kevin M (a9545f)

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