Congressman Maxwell Frost, D-FL, shares an update on a federal funding freeze ordered by the Trump administration and its potential impact in Central Florida. (Jan. 28, 2025) Credit: McKenna Schueler

The Trump administration on Monday, with little guidance or warning, threatened a freeze on federal grants and loans, expected to affect trillions of dollars in federal funding allocated for various initiatives and entities, ranging from veteran assistance services to childhood cancer research, school programs, victims advocacy programs, disaster relief and infrastructure projects. 

The order was rescinded by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget early Wednesday afternoon after immense public backlash.

Critics, and beneficiaries of federal funds, were fully prepared to fight. With few definitive details on who and what programs would most certainly be affected by the freeze early Tuesday, the National Council of Nonprofits and other organizations quickly filed suit against the Trump administration in federal court, arguing the move was illegal.

The order was set to take effect Jan. 28 at 5 p.m., but as a result of legal action, the budget freeze was temporarily blocked by a federal judge less than two hours before that. The temporary block was expected to last at least until a hearing on Monday, Feb. 3.

The intent behind the directive, announced by the federal Office of Management and Budget in a memo to federal agencies, was ostensibly to ensure federal spending is in compliance with President Donald Trump’s recent slew of executive orders.

Such orders, for instance, aim to crack down on “gender ideology,” so-called “wokeness,” certain climate and energy programs, and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

“The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve,” Matthew J. Vaeth, Acting Director of the OMB, wrote in the memo, according to a copy obtained and shared by the New York Times.

“This memorandum requires Federal agencies to identify and review all Federal financial assistance programs and supporting activities consistent with the President’s policies and requirements.”

The funding freeze order excludes Social Security, Medicare, and all federal assistance received directly by individuals, including food stamps, the White House later confirmed. A two-page guidance document shared by the OMB Tuesday afternoon, shared with Orlando Weekly, also states that other programs irrelevant to Trump’s recent executive orders, including rental assistance and small business loans, won’t be affected.

“Funds for small businesses, farmers, Pell grants, Head Start, rental assistance, and other similar programs will not be paused,” the document reads. “If agencies are concerned that these programs may implicate the President’s Executive Orders, they should consult OMB to begin to unwind these objectionable policies without a pause in the payments.”

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How will this impact Orlando?

The scope of the order’s expected impact was broad, although definitive information, particularly on its impact locally, was limited, even among members of Congress.

“This was done without warning. There was no real plan or guidance given to these [federal] agencies and prepping them for what was to come,” Florida Congressman Maxwell Frost, a progressive Democrat from Orlando, shared in a news conference Tuesday afternoon. “The Department of Education, the VA Health and Human Services and relevant agencies were not given information locally on how to deal with all the calls that they are currently getting.”

Frost said he’d been on the phone all day Tuesday with local nonprofits, employers and organizations that rely on federal funds they’ve already been approved to receive.

“We have local housing agencies that have been completely locked out of their federal payment portals,” Frost said, “Meaning that money used for Section 8 housing, permanent supportive housing and building more affordable housing is currently unavailable. Rent is due on Saturday, and so people who use vouchers to pay for their rent currently don’t know if they’ll still be in their homes come this weekend.”

There is no information publicly available on how long the freeze was expected to last.

Despite Frost’s warnings, some on Tuesday still tried to find hope in the two-page guidance document issued by the OMB following hours of panic — guidance that Frost characterized as a sign of the White House “taking steps back” on their initial plan.

Martha Are, CEO of the nonprofit Homeless Services Network of Central Florida, for instance, said in a statement that she was “encouraged” by the OMB guidance, since it indicated their federally funded rental assistance programs, serving some of those with the fewest resources in the Orlando-area community, wouldn’t have been affected.

“We are encouraged by the attached memo that suggests our rental assistance programs will not be included in the freeze,” Are wrote to the nonprofit’s board of directors Tuesday, in a statement shared with Orlando Weekly. “We await additional guidance from HUD [U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development] and the VA [Department of Veteran Affairs] and will keep you posted as we learn more.”

The Homeless Services Network, based in Orlando, operates a number of housing programs specifically for low-income or homeless individuals and families, serving as a critical line of support in a metro area that saw its unsheltered population more than double last year.

Kate Santich, communications director for the HSN, confirmed to Central Florida Public Media, however, that even with the guidance, her organization was “uncertain” if they’d be able to pay rent for their service population, since they rely on federal funding for reimbursement. “Before the judge’s ruling, we were uncertain if we would be able to pay these rents on February 1, which would likely have led to some of those people being evicted,” she said.

Other programs, like Meals on Wheels and healthcare organizations, also sounded the alarm Tuesday, with mainstream news outlets openly describing the uncertain future as one driven by chaos and confusion ahead of the temporary block.

Frost, a known critic of Trump and his right-wing policy platform, characterized the Trump administration’s order as a move straight out of Project 2025, a 922-page policy agenda published by the right-wing Heritage Foundation last year, to be taken up by the next Republican who gained control of the White House.

Several of Project 2025’s contributors have been appointed by Trump to leadership roles in his administration, which are subject to U.S. Senate approval.

“Why did this happen? It’s because President Trump and Congressional Republicans want to pass sweeping tax cuts for corrupt billionaires and corporations,” Frost claimed. “They need to free up taxpayer money to then pass those cuts.”

Some of the world’s wealthiest people, from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to Facebook/Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, have been openly schmoozing with Trump at his Mar-A-Lago estate since his election in November.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, during a board of county commissioners meeting Tuesday morning, openly acknowledged the potential havoc that a freeze on federal aid coming into Orange County could wreak.

“I think after, hopefully a number of weeks, this will start settling down, you know?Because otherwise we can’t…we all can’t function like that. We depend on the cash flow coming in from the feds,” Demings noted. “It could have ramifications if it goes too long.”

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This article appears in Jan 22-28, 2025.

General news reporter for Orlando Weekly, with a focus on state and local government and workers' rights. You can find her bylines in Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, In These Times, and Facing South.