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Trump pauses ALL federal grants, loans and different help, leaked memo reveals

President Donald Trump has temporarily paused all federal grant, loan and other financial assistance programs, a leaked memo has revealed.

The White House budget office has ordered federal agencies to ‘temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance’.

The temporary pause will not affect Social Security or Medicare benefits, the memo specifies. It also does not include ‘assistance provided directly to individuals’.

The suspension goes into effect today at 5pm EST, according to the memo. Agencies have until February 10 to submit detailed information on any programs, projects or activities subject to the pause.

The suspension will provide the administration with time to review agency programs and determine the best uses of funding for those programs consistent with the law and Trump’s priorities.

Agencies must identify legally mandated actions or deadlines for assistance programs before completing the analysis, it added.

President Donald Trump (pictured on Monday) has temporarily paused all federal grant, loan and other financial assistance programs, a leaked memo has revealed

The temporary pause will not affect Social Security or Medicare benefits, the memo specifies. It also does not include 'assistance provided directly to individuals' (File photo of US Capitol)

The temporary pause will not affect Social Security or Medicare benefits, the memo specifies. It also does not include ‘assistance provided directly to individuals’ (File photo of US Capitol)

The memo, signed by acting director of the Office of Management and Budget Matthew Vaeth, directed federal agencies to halt all activities associated with open notices of funding opportunities.

‘In the interim, to the extent permissible under applicable law, federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all federal financial assistance,’ Vaeth wrote.

Vaeth called on all government agencies to ‘identify and review’ all federal financial assistance programs and supporting activities to ensure that spending is consistent with the Trump Administration’s priorities. 

The memo also suggests that the pause was in line with the slew of executive orders that Trump has signed since taking office last week, including those seeking to dismantle programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

The pause applies to all ‘other relevant agency activities that may be impacted by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal’.

The White House has not yet commented on the leaked document. DailyMail.com has approached the Administration for comment.

President Donald Trump sits in the Oval Office after signing executive orders at the White House in Washington, DC on Thursday, January 23, 2025

President Donald Trump sits in the Oval Office after signing executive orders at the White House in Washington, DC on Thursday, January 23, 2025 

Since returning to office last week, the Trump administration has reassigned or fired hundreds of workers in several agencies, aiming to fulfill Trump’s vow to remake a federal bureaucracy he believes was hostile to him during his 2017-2021 presidency. 

Trump put on leave about 60 senior career officials at the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

The Administration on Saturday urged USAID staff to help transform how Washington allocates aid around the world in line with Trump’s ‘America First’ policy and threatened ‘disciplinary action’ for any staff ignoring its orders.

An internal memo sent to USAID employees on Monday evening said the new leadership identified several actions in the agency that ‘appeared to be designed to circumvent the President’s Executive Orders and the mandate from the American people.’

‘As a result, we have placed a number of USAID employees on administrative leave with full pay and benefits until further notice while we complete our analysis of these actions,’ Acting Administrator Jason Gray said in the memo, reviewed by Reuters.

The administration’s actions threaten billions of dollars of life-saving aid from the world’s largest single donor. In fiscal year 2023, the US disbursed $72billion in assistance. 

It provided 42 per cent of all humanitarian aid tracked by the United Nations in 2024.

Hours after taking office, Trump ordered a 90-day pause in foreign aid to review if it was aligned with his foreign policy priorities. On Friday, the State Department issued a stop-work order worldwide even for existing assistance.