1 day Ago By Michael McGurran
FARGO — An order from the White House Budget Office paused federal grants and loans, triggering confusion across the country and closer to home Tuesday, Jan. 28. However, a federal judge temporarily blocked part of the Trump administration’s plans to freeze all federal aid, providing some clarity.
WDAY News spoke with several individuals and organizations about the announcement, with some reassured that they wouldn't be affected, while others were uncertain. The FM Area Diversion Project, which receives approximately $750 million in federal funding, is one example. A spokesperson for the project stated that the funding would not be impacted by the temporary pause.
North Dakota State University, a top 100 public research institution, is among those trying to understand the potential effects of the federal funding freeze. In a message sent to campus on Jan. 28, President David Cook reassured students that financial aid would continue as scheduled.
"At this time, all purchasing and hiring decisions on federally funded grants are going to be limited," Cook wrote in the message, adding that a working group had been established to assess the pause’s impact. Concerns are also emerging from organizations like West Central Minnesota Continuum of Care, which supports homelessness initiatives. A care coordinator expressed uncertainty to WDAY News over how their programs might be affected, though a notice from the Office of Management and Budget clarified that the pause is not a freeze on all federal financial assistance.
WDAY News reached out to North Dakota Sens. John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer for comment. "It's our understanding that the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) temporary pause is limited to federal programs that are directly implicated by President Trump's Executive Orders and does not impact programs that provide direct benefits to Americans, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and federal student aid," Hoeven said in a statement.
"The administration is looking at federal spending to ensure programs are operating in accordance with President Trump’s directives. Agencies are required to submit their reviews to OMB within the next two weeks, and affected programs are expected to experience only a short pause while the new administration’s policies are implemented.” "The pause is just that, a pause on federal grant payments that do not align with the recent executive orders signed by President Trump," Cramer said.
"It is narrowly tailored to specific executive orders and does not apply to individual benefits like SNAP, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, or education programs. He is doing what the American people elected him to do: reevaluating the wasteful, inflationary spending of the last four years." The federal judge’s decision temporarily blocking part of the pause means that federal operations will continue as usual, at least until Monday, when further court proceedings are expected.
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