Trump administration rescinds grant freeze memo that set off confusion and legal battles

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• Amna Nawaz:

  After widespread confusion, the Trump administration today walked back some of its message about a funding freeze on trillions of dollars of federal grants and loans.

• Geoff Bennett:

  This afternoon, the White House set a memo from the Office of Management and Budget that outlined a temporary pause on many government-funded programs was rescinded.

  But White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later said that would not stop the federal funding freeze tied to President Trump's executive orders.

  Laura Barron-Lopez has been following this back-and-forth.

  And, Laura, our viewers could be forgiven if they're confused by all of this. Clear up what you can for us.

• Laura Barron-Lopez:

  So that funding freeze that was revealed by the OMB memo sent nonprofits, agencies, state officials across the country into uncertainty and confusion, because the White House initially had only specified that Medicare and Social Security would not be touched, then later clarified, no, programs like Medicaid and SNAP won't be touched as well.

  And then, today, after 24 hours of chaos and facing two lawsuits, OMB said that they were rescinding that memo, and the White House press secretary said that this should effectively end the court case. Other White House officials told us that this was a move essentially to get around the lawsuits, but they said over and over again today that this does not halt that federal spending freeze.

  And White House officials also said that the memo ultimately served its purpose. So they're not backing off of this freeze at all, Geoff and Amna.

• Amna Nawaz:

  Laura, you mentioned the White House thought that rescinding the memo could contain or stop the legal backlash. So, does it?

• Laura Barron-Lopez:

  No, because a second federal judge today, Judge John McConnell, plans to issue a restraining order against the funding freeze.

  And this was due to a lawsuit brought by attorneys general across a number of states. And so, according to reporters that were in the court today, Judge McConnell said that the OMB memo was hugely ambiguous and it is a — quote — "distinction without a difference."

  So now the White House is facing two restraining orders from two judges in two different lawsuits that are temporarily stopping that funding freeze. And so, essentially, the heart of the matter is that memo, whether it's in effect or rescinded, does not change the way judges are viewing these lawsuits.

• Geoff Bennett:

  So, bottom line, what does this mean for people who are concerned about the programs they might rely on?

• Laura Barron-Lopez:

  Well, it's done little to ease the confusion and the fear, Geoff.

  And so just one example, a White House official said that Meals on Wheels, the program that delivers food to seniors and some disabled people, would not be affected. Meals on Wheels said that's not how they're approaching this, that they are — quote — "still flying completely blind," they told us.

  And so, while all of this is happening, Geoff, federal workers are also facing a lot of confusion, because the Office of Personnel Management, essentially the government's H.R., sent an e-mail yesterday to federal employees seeking mass resignations, giving them the option to say yes to this resignation up until next week.

  And they're told that if they agree to step — to take this resignation, that they could potentially work from home. But it's not clear exactly how the White House is able to do this.

• Geoff Bennett:

  Laura Barron-Lopez, our thanks to you, as always.

• Laura Barron-Lopez:

  Thank you.

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