White House denies reports that federal funding freeze has been rescinded

Update, 3:30 p.m.:

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday clarified that a government freeze on all federal grant, assistance, and loan programs had not been rescinded. Her statement came after media reports indicated that the freeze had been rescinded, citing a notice from the White House Office of Management and Budget. Shortly after those reports, Leavitt issued a statement saying that only the original memo announcing the freeze—rather than the freeze itself—was being rescinded. She said this was done in order to avoid confusion following U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan’s ruling temporarily blocking the freeze from taking effect.

Initial post, 12 p.m.:

Federal judge pauses White House freeze on government funding

U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan on Tuesday paused an order by President Donald Trump to temporarily freeze government funding for grant, loan, and assistance programs. The White House said in a Tuesday statement that the pause was meant to help review whether federal programs were following the law and the new president’s policies. Its pause would only apply to programs, projects, and activities implicated by the new president’s executive orders, according to the explainer document.

The administration’s temporary freeze went into effect early on Tuesday. It was quickly challenged in court and AliKhan ordered it paused through next Monday. The extra time will allow lawyers to file expedited briefs and a hearing to be conducted in the legal case, she wrote.

Why did she freeze the freeze? Judge AliKhan’s order came after the National Council of Nonprofits and several other organizations sued the Trump administration, alleging the freeze could deprive many communities of lifesaving care. While she considered the merits of the groups’ lawsuit, AliKhan said it would be best to keep things the way they were before Trump’s administration put the freeze into place.

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Canterberry’s report in The Sift yesterday about Trump’s order freezing the aid.