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Trump administration reverses course on federal aid freeze

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The administration of United States President Donald Trump has retracted a memorandum regarding a freeze on federal funding that sparked backlash and confusion, raising concerns about the potential cessation of services spanning healthcare, housing, and childcare.

However, in a social media post on Wednesday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt asserted that Trump’s executive order (EO) to pause federal spending would continue to be in force. She clarified that the recent directive was specifically related to a memo issued by the Office of Budget and Management (OMB) that was made public earlier this week.

“This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze,” Leavitt wrote. “It is simply a rescission of the OMB memo.”

The decision came as the result of a federal court decision on Tuesday to temporarily block the funding freeze, within hours of when it was supposed to go into effect.

Nonprofits had brought a legal challenge against the funding freeze, which they argued went beyond the constitutional authorities of the president.

“The President’s EO’s on federal funding remain in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented,” Leavitt wrote on Wednesday. Trump himself has argued his executive order was only meant to end wasteful spending.

Still, Democrats touted the announcement of the memo’s cancellation as a victory. In a social media post, for instance, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said the reversal was Trump’s “first major loss”.

“We may not have majorities in the House and the Senate, but we DO have the power to loudly educate and mobilize against the mass looting the Trump admin is attempting against our veterans, healthcare, education, and more,” she said.

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