Trump freezes federal grant payments in surprise move

Driving the news: Agencies have until Feb. 10 to submit detailed information on any programs, projects or activities subject to the pause.

• The memo says that "to the extent permissible under applicable law, Federal agencies must temporarily pause [bold in original] all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal."
• The pause "does not include assistance provided directly to individuals," the memo states.

Between the lines: The memo created confusion across Washington.

• It may impact at least tens of billions of dollars in payments, Brian Riedl, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a center-right think tank, told the Washington Post.
• "The funding delays are going to prove very difficult for grantees under the impression the money is coming, and have rent and salary payments dependent upon it," Riedl said. "It seems like a very big deal."

The other side: Top Democratic congressional budget appropriation lawmakers, Sen. Patty Murray of Washington and Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, said in a letter to OMB: "The scope of what you are ordering is breathtaking, unprecedented, and will have devastating consequences across the country.

Go deeper: Tracking Trump's executive orders: What he's signed so far