President Donald Trump’s budget office rescinded an order freezing spending on federal grants, less than two days after it sparked widespread confusion and legal challenges across the country, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The new memorandum, just two sentences long, will allow agencies to continue their normal operations after uncertainty over the impact of the initial directive caused widespread chaos across government. It followed a temporary injunction by a federal judge that prevented the original Office of Management and Budget memo from taking effect.

The freeze on hundreds of billions of dollars of federal grants had been temporarily halted by a judge on Tuesday.

The White House budget office on Wednesday rescinded an order freezing federal grants, according to a copy of a new memo obtained by The Washington Post, after the administration’s move to halt spending earlier this week provoked a backlash.

The White House formally rescinded a controversial memo that had ordered a freeze on federal grants and loans. The freeze, which had been set to take effect late Tuesday afternoon, was paused Tuesday by a federal judge to give her time to consider arguments challenging its legality.

The Trump administration has temporarily paused grant, loan and other financial assistance programs, according to a memo.

The Trump administration has put a hold on all federal financial grants and loans, affecting tens of billions of dollars in payments.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the pause on federal financial assistance will not include food stamps, Social Security, or Medicare and welfare benefits.

January 28, 2025. Donald Trump's White House ordered a pause in all federal grants and loans starting on Tuesday, a mo