Federal Grants

Secretary of Education Linda McMahon sent a scathing letter to Harvard University President Alan Garber on Monday, not only blasting the Massachusetts Ivy League school’s handling of antisemitism on campus but also advising school officials to refrain from applying for future federal grants because they will not "be provided."

A divided Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration by allowing officials to block $65 million in teacher development grants frozen over concerns they were promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices. 

The 5-4 emergency ruling, for now, lifts a lower order that forced the Education Department to resume the grants in eight Democratic-led states that are suing...

The Trump administration is canceling billions of dollars in grant funding to state and local health departments without warning, throwing their programs into disarray.

Why it matters: The move casts doubt on states' ability to continue substance use disorder support programs and prevent emerging infectious diseases, among other efforts.

In Virginia, the state health department has already begun laying off staff as a result of the funding cuts.

President Trump’s budget office has ordered all federal agencies to temporarily pause the disbursement of “all federal financial assistance” besides Social Security and Medicare.

The order could disrupt tens of billions of dollars in payments for domestic infrastructure projects, climate initiatives, foreign aid and diversity education that is disbursed to states and local governments.

The move creates confusion in Washington and the states as officials scramble to figure out how to navigate the pause. 

The White House ordered executive departments and agencies to broadly pause federal grants, loans and other financial-assistance programs pending a review by the Trump administration, according to a memo reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

The memo, sent around 5 p.m. on Monday by the Office of Management and Budget, caused confusion with some employees in federal agencies who sought to understand which programs were affected and how they should respond, said a person familiar with the matter.

The National Science Foundation canceled all of its grant review panels this week, as the organization works to align its grantmaking process with new executive orders from the Trump administration.

The NSF funds a wide range of scientific research through grants to universities and research institutions. It convenes panels of experts to weigh the merits of those proposals, ultimately informing which receive federal funding. It has a budget of around $9 billion.

The White House budget office has ordered a pause in grants, loans and other federal financial assistance, according to a memo sent to government agencies on Monday, potentially paralyzing a vast swath of programs and sowing confusion and alarm among the array of groups that depend on them.

The directive threatened to upend funds that course throughout the American economy: Hundreds of billions of dollars in grants to state, local and tribal governments. Disaster relief aid. Education and transportation funding. Loans to small businesses.

The Trump administration late Monday directed federal agencies to pause the disbursement of loans and grants while the government conducts a review to ensure spending aligns with President Trump’s agenda.

A memo issued by acting director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Matthew Vaeth directs federal agencies to temporarily pause “all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance.”