Matthew Vaeth

Temporary Pause of Agency Grant, Loan, and Other Financial Assistance Programs

The American people elected Donald Trump to be President of the United States and gave him a mandate to increase the impact of every federal taxpayer dollar. In Fiscal Year 2024, of the nearly $10 trillion that the Federal Government spent, more than $3 trillion was Federal financial assistance, such as grants and loans. Career and political appointees in the Executive Branch have a duty to align Federal spending and action with the will of the American people as expressed through Presidential priorities.

OMB Clarifies Executive Order Concerning Infrastructure Act Funding

The directive in section 7 of the Executive Order entitled Unleashing American Energy requires agencies to immediately pause disbursement of funds appropriated under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-169) or the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-58).  This pause only applies to funds supporting programs, projects, or activities that may be implicated by the policy established in Section 2 of the order.