After the rain of criticism he received on Tuesday, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, turned back this Wednesday and He terminated an order that frozen federal subsidies. That decision, which affected thousands of social programs, among others, caused a strong political storm, uncertainty and chaos in Washington.
In a memorandum dated Wednesday and distributed to federal agencies, Matthew J. Vaeth, interim director of the White House Administration and Budget Office, states that the M-25-13 memorandum of the OMB “is terminated.”
That order, issued on Monday, had instructed federal agencies to “temporarily pause all activities related to the obligations or disbursement of All federal financial assistance“
The original White House order that frozen federal subsidies, which was made public on Monday, caused chaos and confusion Massive throughout Washington, because it endangered government programs that finance schools, provide housing and guarantee that low -income Americans have access to medical care.
The states reported problems accessing Medicaid funds, and even Wednesday, the public housing authorities reported that they had blocked access to their financing portal.
White House spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt, came out to clarify that assistance for people would not be affected.
A protest in Washington against Donald Trump’s decision to cut social assistance programs, Tuesday. Photo: AP Reverse
The decision to terminate that order occurred in the middle of strong pressures of Democratic legislators, but also Republicans.
In a press conference, the Democratic leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, had described the order on Tuesday as “a stab to the heart of American families,” stressing that it is “illegal” and that its impact will feel so much in Republican states as Democrats, in cities and in rural areas.
The Republicans They also showed a deep rejection behind the scenes. Upon knowing the reverse of Trump, an official senator expressed relief for the change of course. “Chaos is never good,” he told The Hill.
Republican legislators had been flooded with calls from community leaders from their districts that expressed confusion and concern for the loss of federal subsidies.
Democratic legislators also celebrated: “This is an important victory for the American people whose voices were heard after a massive pressure from all corners of this country: real people made a difference by raising their voice, “Senator Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington, said.
“Even so, the Trump administration, through a combination of pure incompetence, cruel intentions and a deliberate contempt of the law, caused real damage and chaos for millions of people in the period of the last 48 hours, which still continues.” , he added.
Trump’s government withdrew the order one day after A federal judge in Washington DC temporarily arrested its implementation Until February 3, which allowed public health defenders, nonprofit organizations and companies, represented by the left -off group Democracy Forward, more time to challenge the legality of the directive.
Separately, approximately two dozen state general prosecutors filed their own lawsuit against the Government on Tuesday, arguing that the pause in federal spending had harmed its citizens, which justified their revocation.
Trump’s controversial decision is framed in his policy of a drastic expense cutting, which also includes measures such as reducing the personnel of the State agencies.
In that context, this Tuesday the Republican government offered volunteer retreats To almost all federal employees, a measure designed to reduce and reform the US government.
In an email sent on Tuesday, his administration told the workers that they had to decide before February 6 if they wanted to be part of a “Deferred Resignation” program.
The Trump administration expects up to 10% of employees to accept the offer, which is equivalent to about 200,000 of the more than two million people working for the federal government, according to CBS News.
