On Wednesday afternoon, the White House Office of Management and Budget issued a new memorandum—M-25-14—that rescinded the pause to federal funding contemplated in a previous memorandum first issued on Monday night.
The new memorandum, which was directed to "heads of executive departments and agencies," features a two-sentence statement reading: "OMB Memorandum M-25-13 is rescinded. If you have questions about implementing the President's Executives Order, please contact your agency General Counsel."
In the short term, M-25-14 certainly relieves some of the confusion and anxiety that swept across the federal grants world since Monday night. Our previous client alerts have chronicled the chaos that emerged late Monday and throughout the day on Tuesday.
However, in our review, there are still five key Executive Orders issued by the Trump Administration not affected by the rescission of M-25-13. Those EOs include:
- Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid, directly addressing foreign assistance funding;
- Unleashing American Energy, freezing all programmatic funding for "green new deal" programs;
- Protecting the American People Against Invasion, freezing Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security programs and contracts pending a review of immigration enforcement programs;
- Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing, terminating all DEIA programs and activities in the federal government; and
- Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, terminating all DEIA-funded grant programs and contracts.
While the upheaval following the issuance of M-25-13 may have prompted the Trump Administration to change course and move away from pausing all federal funding, we certainly anticipate that federal grants in the above-listed areas will remain subject to a comprehensive review and new standards. Federal grantees with programs in these specific areas should undertake a detailed review and be prepared for future agency actions.
Federal grantees should continue to keep apprised of the Administration's actions, orders, and statements relating to federal funding—as the rescinded memorandum likely foretells future clashes as the Administration attempts to exert control over federal spending.
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