On Wednesday, January 29, the White House Office of Management and Budget issued a memorandum rescinding a previously issued federal order demanding that federal agencies pause disbursing federal grants and loans as of 5 PM on January 28th. Under a subject line of “Rescission of M-25-13,” today’s memo instructs agency directors to consult with their general counsel if they have questions about implementing executive orders.
On Jan. 27, the White House issued the now-withdrawn memorandum, which would also require by February 7th that all agencies fill out a detailed spreadsheet that asks questions about whether federal programs allow funds to be disbursed in violation of any of several Executive Orders of the President, including Protecting the American People Against Invasion, Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing, and Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government. Specifically, the spreadsheet requests federal agencies to review and inform the Administration whether federal programs:
• Provide federal funding to non-governmental organizations supporting or providing services, directly or indirectly, to removable or illegal aliens
• Provide funding that is implicated by the directive to end discriminatory programs, including illegal DEI and “diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility” (DEIA) mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities…
• Promote gender ideology
The Department of Education released clarifying information to state superintendents that “the OMB memorandum only applies to discretionary grants at the Department of Education. These will be reviewed by Department leadership for alignment with Trump Administration priorities. The temporary pause does not impact Title I, IDEA, or other formula grants, nor does it apply to Federal Pell Grants and Direct Loans under Title IV, HEA. The Department is working with OMB to identify other programs that are not covered by the memo.”
The OMB spreadsheet requires that the Department of Education review Title funds, including Title II, for compliance with the President’s Executive Orders.
A federal lawsuit challenging this OMB memorandum and seeking a Temporary Restraining Order to bar its implementation was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia by four non-profit organizations.
Late on January 28th, a Federal Court in DC issued an administrative stay blocking the enforcement of the January 27 OMB memorandum until at least February 3rd.
As this story continues to develop, we will provide updates as information comes in. Questions? Contact Melinda George, Learning Forward’s Chief Policy Officer at melinda.george@learningforward.org.