OMB freezes all disbursements / USAID shutdown / GOP begs for exceptions for their states

nycfan said:
“… The budget memo calling for a pause in federal spending on an unspecified number of programs effective the next day was issued without the knowledge of senior staff, people familiar with its release said, even though they were forced to quickly defend it.

A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Office of Management and Budget memo was “poorly written” and “too vague, so it left everything up to interpretation.”

The memo wasn’t run by many top advisers in the West Wing, including deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, before it was issued, according to people familiar with what happened.

“Memos are supposed to offer guidance, and this was the opposite of guidance,” the official said. It suggested, for example, that $3 trillion in federal spending needed more scrutiny and that most programs could be on the chopping block aside from Social Security and Medicare.

Republican lawmakers immediately defended the spending freeze but they were hit with questions from constituents about veterans programs being halted as well as potential cuts to Medicaid, which provides benefits to low-income Americans and many with disabilities. …”

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Not even a month in and it's already been a cluster.
 
A fairly alarmist message from Sen. Murphy, who I had not previously thought of as alarmist …

 


“… To avoid running afoul of the orders, which include “the termination of all discriminatory programs,” some school leaders have assumed a defensive posture on anything associated with DEI.

Arizona State University told researchers to immediately stop work on federally funded DEI-related projects and avoid using unspent funds.

Michigan State University canceled a DEI webinar and began a review of campus programs to understand how they could be affected by the executive orders.

… North Carolina State University directed faculty to stop working on any projects that “included the terms diversity, equity and inclusion” in the program’s proposal. …”
 
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“… Last week, the NIH emailed Northern Arizona University to terminate funding for a project Naomi Lee hosts for mostly Native American high-school students at science labs at the university. The NIH cited Trump’s executive order titled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing.”

Lee said she was shocked. “We thought we were fine until the end of the fiscal year,” she said.

Universities are also facing a delay in getting money unrelated to DEI. The NIH and NSF both paused reviews of grant applications, following the Trump administration’s barrage of directives.

Johns Hopkins University computational biologist Steven Salzberg was reviewing graduate applications and set to make multiple offers for new students until last week. “Right now, I feel like I cannot make any offers because I don’t know when the funding situation will be resolved,” he said. …”
 
nycfan said:
IMG_4801.jpeg

“… Last week, the NIH emailed Northern Arizona University to terminate funding for a project Naomi Lee hosts for mostly Native American high-school students at science labs at the university. The NIH cited Trump’s executive order titled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing.”

Lee said she was shocked. “We thought we were fine until the end of the fiscal year,” she said.

Universities are also facing a delay in getting money unrelated to DEI. The NIH and NSF both paused reviews of grant applications, following the Trump administration’s barrage of directives.

Johns Hopkins University computational biologist Steven Salzberg was reviewing graduate applications and set to make multiple offers for new students until last week. “Right now, I feel like I cannot make any offers because I don’t know when the funding situation will be resolved,” he said. …”
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Prospective grad students from other countries will be asking a lot of questions that can’t be answered with certainty. There are some ethical issues extending an offer amidst all the chaos, even beyond funding concerns.
 
Trump the mass-murderer.

As if his place in hell wasn't assured enough already.
 

Trump to Order Aid Agency to Be Put Under State Department​

Democrats say the move is illegal without congressional approval​



“
President Trump is preparing an order to fold the U.S. Agency for International Development into the State Department, according to administration officials, previewing a move that throws the future of America’s foreign assistance into doubt as Washington battles China for influence in the developing world.

The directive, which could come as early as next week, is expected to shrink the size of the 10,000-person, $40 billion agency and rein in its autonomy, the officials said. It will give the State Department greater authority over the contracting and aid-distribution process, and put more decision-making power in the hands of Secretary of State Marco Rubioand his foreign-assistance team, officials said.

Democrats insist Trump doesn’t have the unilateral authority to restructure USAID and further erode USAID’s historically independent mission, as its existence is codified in federal law.

… As of Saturday afternoon, USAID.gov, the agency’s website, was offline.

… The Project 2025 blueprint for the Trump administration called for fusing the two agencies together and included a proposal that would make the USAID chief simultaneously the head of State’s foreign assistance office.

…
The order is already facing political challenges, and it may face legal questions since money for USAID is appropriated by Congress and its authorities are ratified in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. While former President John F. Kennedy created USAID via an executive order, its independent status was codified in 1998 legislation and reaffirmed by Congress last year. Democrats insist that Congress must pass legislation before there is a bureaucratic reorganization.

“This’d be illegal and against our national interests,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer posted on social media Friday night as rumors about the planned order began to circulate. …”
 
nycfan said:
“… The budget memo calling for a pause in federal spending on an unspecified number of programs effective the next day was issued without the knowledge of senior staff, people familiar with its release said, even though they were forced to quickly defend it.

A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Office of Management and Budget memo was “poorly written” and “too vague, so it left everything up to interpretation.”

The memo wasn’t run by many top advisers in the West Wing, including deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, before it was issued, according to people familiar with what happened.

“Memos are supposed to offer guidance, and this was the opposite of guidance,” the official said. It suggested, for example, that $3 trillion in federal spending needed more scrutiny and that most programs could be on the chopping block aside from Social Security and Medicare.

Republican lawmakers immediately defended the spending freeze but they were hit with questions from constituents about veterans programs being halted as well as potential cuts to Medicaid, which provides benefits to low-income Americans and many with disabilities. …”

Click to expand...
Best administration every, only the bestestest people are allowed to kiss the king's ass.
 
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