Federal agencies must “temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all federal financial assistance,” and any other programs that included “DEI, woke gender ideology and the Green New Deal,” Vaeth wrote.

Vaeth suggested that the pause would last until at least mid-February, asking agencies to provide a detailed report on the programmes that have been affected by 10 February.

He specifies that Medicare and Social Security benefits are not included in the pause. Other programmes through which aid “is received directly by individuals” are also exempt.

But it remains uncertain how much money is involved. The memo suggests that the federal government spent $10tn (£8tn) in fiscal year 2024, more than $3tn of which went to federal financial assistance. But the source of those numbers is unclear. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported that the government spent $6.7tn that year.