Summary
A federal judge temporarily blocked Trump’s freeze on all federal grants and loans, which was set to begin Tuesday at 5:00 p.m.
The order, issued by U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan, pauses the freeze until February 3, with a hearing scheduled for Monday.
The funding halt caused widespread disruptions, shutting down Medicaid portals and Head Start programs.
Trump’s order sought to review agencies’ commitments to DEI and environmental policies.
Attorneys general from 23 states have sued to oppose the freeze.
“Power of the purse” is an abstract concept, and I don’t think Trump is capable of that kind of thought. He is transactional and authoritarian. He views being President as being the ultimate boss. Why can’t the boss impose his will on “his” employees? We know it’s because those people work for America, not for him personally. But he is incapable of acknowledging the difference.
So, those portals go back online, because some Undersecretary of Somethingorother interpreted a lawful court ruling properly, and continues to disburse funds according to law. Guess what? That person is getting summarily fired and replaced with someone who only listens to The Boss. The portal will go down again at some point, this time for good.
True, I don’t disagree.
As for your last sentence, the freeze was originally intended to last 2 weeks while they “analyzed” everything. In my opinion, they usually pull these very public stunts that they know will draw everyone’s attention while they’re doing other crazy and/or corrupt shenanigans. While everyone’s distracted, those other shenanigans don’t get much–if any–news coverage.
Yeah, it’s classic misdirection
I wonder what things are slipping by while we’re all distracted by this insanity…