President Donald Trump this week released a directive to the heads of executive departments and agencies to pause all spending on federal grants, loans and financial assistance programs to evaluate whether they are “implicated by” the executive orders issued last week, and with administration policies generally.
But just as the pause was scheduled to begin Tuesday at 5:00 p.m., a federal district court blocked it with a temporary restraining order. The court noted it would make a more permanent ruling on February 3.
Related article: Update on executive orders
The directive caused enormous concern across community college campuses. As issued, the plan did not affect Pell grants, direct loans, and it appeared that Federal Work Study and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants were also exempted, although this was not confirmed.
However, the pause would have affected a broad array of other federal discretionary programs — meaning those which are annually appropriated funding — and which include most every type of federal grant support that colleges get. Some of these programs include Strengthening Community College Training Grants, Title III-A of the Higher Education Act, Minority-Serving Institutions, TRIO, GEAR UP, the Advanced Technological Education Programs, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act programs, Carl T. Perkins Act funds, Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending and many more.
The full intent of the administration’s proposed pause is unclear. As written, it charged agencies with reviewing programs to ensure that they were consistent with the policy goals of the Trump administration, as well as the specific executive orders that it has issued. However, later statements have indicated that the primary focus of the pause was to gauge whether programs were aligned with the executive orders.
Congressional response
The president’s actions drew sharp responses from top Democratic appropriators in the House and Senate. In a January 27 letter to Acting Office of Management and Budget Director Matthew Vaeth, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Connecticut) said the administration aims to “undermine Congress’s power of the purse, threaten our national security, and deny resources for states, localities, American families, and businesses.”
“While we may have strong policy disagreements, we should all be united in upholding our nation’s laws and the Constitution,” the lawmakers wrote. “We will be relentless in our work with members on both sides of the aisle and in both chambers to protect Congress’s power of the purse.”
DeLauro later highlighted federal programs that the pause could jeopardize, including job training grants.
The American Association of Community Colleges will keep its members informed about further developments.
