Confusion, fear and uncertainty over which programs are impacted.

The full impact of this pause may not be known for hours or even days, as it is not immediately obvious which programs are covered by the “assistance provided directly to individuals” exception since many forms of aid are paid to state governments or other agencies or organizations before reaching individuals. For example, the pause explicitly does not stop Social Security or Medicare benefits for senior citizens but it was initially unclear if it would stop benefits for low-income American through Medicaid or children through the Child Health Insurance Program. On Tuesday, experts and citizens expressed concern that the pause could impact assistance programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Women, Infants, and Children, as well as education benefits like Pell Grants. The uncertainty led to the OMB issuing follow-up guidelines to clarify that programs such as Medicaid, SNAP and Pell Grants were not paused. However, the clarification still gave cause for concern, as OMB advises “if agencies are concerned that these programs may implicate the President’s Executive Orders, they should consult OMB to begin to unwind these objectionable policies without a pause in the payments.”

New memo from White House says the pause is NOT across the board pic.twitter.com/Z8Rinz9LLx

— Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) January 28, 2025

NPR reported that the National Science Foundation canceled its scheduled grant reviews in light of the Trump administration’s new orders; this pause could delay or endanger ongoing research projects and put university faculty, researchers and students at financial risk. The pause also covers foreign aid, endangering the functioning of programs like PEPFAR, which fights global HIV/AIDS and has been credited with saving tens of millions of lives.

PEPFAR has saved an estimated 25 million lives — an incredible American achievement.

This funding pause needs to be lifted ASAP pic.twitter.com/nYfsN6ofW4

— Alec Stapp (@AlecStapp) January 25, 2025

At a minimum, this new move by the Trump administration has created widespread worry and concern for many millions of people across the United States and around the world who rely on federal funds for a variety of purposes. At worst, this pause could significantly harm the security and livelihoods of millions of people and perhaps even endanger the lives of those who lose access to crucial aid.

federal aid

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