By Lynn La
CalMatters Network
January 29, 2025
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President Donald Trump has called for a temporary freeze on certain federal aid — sowing confusion and concern among California’s state officials and advocacy groups.
As CalMatters’ reporters explain, a memo from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget directed federal agencies to pause financial grants and loans that could be “implicated” by any of the president’s prior executive orders.
The directive does not include Social Security and Medicare, as well as “assistance provided directly to individuals,” such as food stamps, Pell grants and rental assistance. It does, however, target “financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal.”
Despite the two-page memo’s sweeping breadth, its few details made it unclear which key programs will be affected and for how long. The administration later requested federal agencies to send budget details for 3,200 federal spending programs, and information about whether the programs support undocumented immigrants or promote abortion, “gender ideology,” or “diversity, equity and inclusion” efforts.
The administration intended the directive to go into effect Tuesday, but a federal judge temporarily blocked the order.
Reactions by California’s elected Democratic officials ranged from cautious to dire. Gov. Gavin Newsom said, “We could react to all this or we could have a more constructive wait-and-see.” While California U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman said to CalMatters, “This kind of destabilization is the way authoritarians seize power. … I think it’s dictatorial.”
California is expected to distribute $168 billion of federal grants and other funding in 2024-25, according to Assembly budget advisor Jason Sisney.
This article was originally published by CalMatters.
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