White House Rescinds Order That Froze Federal Aid And Stoked Confusion

deadline.com:

The White House rescinded an order that froze federal grants, loans and other financial assistance, generating widespread confusion among governors, state agencies and non profits over the future of their financial support.

A federal judge had already issued an injunction to temporarily block the order, but the Office of Management and Budget today issued a memo recalling the initial directive.Trump Administration Rescinds Order on Federal Aid Freeze pic.twitter.com/mWiuaeNP4B The action — and the uncertainty around it — also gave Democrats a new sense of mojo just over a week into Trump’s term.

They quickly pointed to the impact that the order had on health care, research and schools, while characterizing the effort as an illegal power grab to usurp Congress’ control of the federal purse strings. “Americans fought back and Donald Trump backed off,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).

He called on Trump to also rescind the nomination of Russell Vought to serve as director of the OMB. The rescinding of the order was the first major reversal of Trump’s new term, in which he has flooded each news cycle with signings of executive orders on everything from ending birthright citizenship to renaming the Gulf of Mexico.