President Trump's funding freeze: How it could impact you | FOX 2 Detroit

President Trump's funding freeze: How it could impact you

President Donald Trump issued an executive order pausing federal grants and loans starting Tuesday as part of his across-the-board review of government spending. However, just moments before the deadline, a judge temporarily blocked the order.

U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan blocked the action Tuesday afternoon, minutes before it was set to go into effect. The administrative stay pauses the freeze until Monday. The White House had planned to start the pause as they begin an across-the-board ideological review of federal spending.

The plan sparked confusion and panic among organizations that rely on Washington for their financial lifeline. Administration officials have said federal assistance to individuals would not be affected, including Social Security, Medicare, food stamps, student loans and scholarships.

In Michigan, this is the latest in a whirlwind start of Donald Trump's second presidency is wreaking havoc on state agencies and nonprofits.

What is impacted by federal funding freeze

During the press briefing, Levitt said federal assistance to individuals would not be affected, including Social Security, Medicare, food stamps, food stamps, welfare benefits, student loans and scholarships.

What they're saying:

"If you are receiving individual assistance from the federal government, you will still continue to receive that," Leavitt said. "However, it is the responsibility of this president and this administration to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars." 

The suspension specifically targets financial assistance related to financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, diversity and equity and the Green New Deal. 

What we don't know:

However, the sweeping scope of the freeze has raised concerns about possible disruptions to educational funding, with education programs potentially being impacted. Tuesday afternoon, the Office of Management and Budget issued a clarification saying in addition to social security and Medicare, mandatory programs like Medicaid and SNAP will continue.

The other side:

The order is raising alarms with the Michigan League for Public Policy with many wondering how bad the fallout will be for funding that supports critical services.

"There are literally millions of people that rely on services that are funded through federal grants and contracts," Monique Stanton said. "Additional cuts could be coming- there is concern about federal long term cuts to Medicaid and those types of things will have devastating consequences on people's lives everyday."

By the numbers:

Stanton said 47% of Michigan kids receive Medicaid. Losing that healthier coverage would be catastrophic.

At Michigan's Department of Health and Human Services, 70% of their $26 billion budget comes from the federal government - and the freeze would impact so many other health and environmental programs.

"There is some concern about the constitutionality of this - the National Council of Nonprofits as well as other organizations have filed an injunction to stop this order. There are a number of attorneys general throughout the country that have filed suit or are about to file suit," Stanton said.

Among hose is Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. 

Senator Elissa Slotkin slammed the action, calling it unlawful and noted concerns from mayors, universities, veterans, nursing homes, cancer patients, childcare centers, and farmers - all who rely on federal programs and grants.

"This administration, like every administration, must follow the law, and the law says that money is appropriated by Congress," Slotkin wrote.

What is the Office of Management and Budget? 

Dig deeper:

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) oversees the performance of federal agencies and administers the federal budget.

 In a recent memo, Matthew Vaeth, the acting director of OMB criticized the use of federal resources, saying that "the use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and Green New Deal  social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve." 

The Source: Information from the Associated Press and LiveNOW from FOX was all used in this report. 

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