The White House is pausing federal grants and loans as President Donald Trump’s administration begins an across-the-board ideological review of its spending.
The website that states use to get Medicaid payments from the federal government is down, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
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>> Trump orders a funding freeze during a review of federal loans and grants
She said that states would still have their payments processed. The outage, which occurred just after the White House ordered a pause on federal grants, raises concerns that billions in Medicaid funding would be cut off.
Leavitt said “no payments have been affected” and “the portal will be back online shortly.”
BACKGROUND
The White House is pausing federal grants and loans starting Tuesday as Trump’s administration begins an across-the-board ideological review of its spending, causing confusion and panic among organizations that rely on Washington for their financial lifeline.
Administration officials said the decision was necessary to ensure that all funding complies with Trump’s executive orders, which are intended to undo progressive steps on transgender rights, environmental justice and diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, efforts.
They also said that federal assistance to individuals would not be affected, including Social Security, Medicare, food stamps, student loans and scholarships.
However, the funding freeze could affect trillions of dollars, at least temporarily, and cause widespread disruption in health care research, education programs and other initiatives. Even grants that have been awarded but not spent are supposed to be halted. State agencies and early education centers appeared to be struggling to access money from Medicaid and Head Start, stirring anxiety with answers hard to come by in Washington.
Court battles are imminent, and Democratic attorneys general announced a lawsuit asking a federal judge to block the Republican president’s moves.