(This article will be updated as new information comes in).
WASHINGTON — Local education, law enforcement and other agencies are studying the recent announcement of a pause on federal grants and loans that began Tuesday.
The White House is pausing federal grants and loans as President Donald Trump's administration begins an across-the-board ideological review of its spending, causing confusion and panic among organizations that rely on Washington for their financial lifeline, according to the Associated Press.
Administration officials said the decision was necessary to ensure that all funding complies with Trump's executive orders, which are intended to undo progressive steps on transgender rights, environmental justice and diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, efforts, the AP reported.
They also said that federal assistance to individuals would not be affected, including Social Security, Medicare, food stamps, student loans and scholarships.
However, the funding freeze could affect trillions of dollars, at least temporarily, and cause widespread disruption in health care research, education programs and other initiatives. Even grants that have been awarded but not spent are supposed to be halted. State agencies and early education centers appeared to be struggling to access money from Medicaid and Head Start, stirring anxiety with answers hard to come by in Washington, the AP reported.
Court battles are imminent, the AP reported.
The issue dominated the first briefing held by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. She said the administration was trying to be "good stewards" of public money by making sure that there was "no more funding for transgenderism and wokeness."
"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," wrote Matthew Vaeth, the acting director of the federal Office of Management and Budget.
Democrats and independent organizations described the pause as capricious and illegal because Congress had already authorized the money.
"The scope of this illegal action is unprecedented and could have devastating consequences across the country," said Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee. "For real people, we could see a screeching halt to resources for child care, cancer research, housing, police officers, opioid addiction treatment, rebuilding roads and bridges, and even disaster relief efforts."
It's unclear from the White House memo how sweeping the pause will be. Vaeth said all spending must comply with Trump's executive orders,
Vaeth wrote that "each agency must complete a comprehensive analysis of all of their Federal financial assistance programs to identify programs, projects, and activities that may be implicated by any of the President's executive orders." He also wrote that the pause should be implemented "to the extent permissible under applicable law."
The Environmental Protection Agency, which distributes billions of dollars, confirmed that it would implement the pause to "align federal spending and action with the will of the American people as expressed through President Trump's priorities."
Chanute City Manager Todd Newman said at this time the pause won't impact Chanute projects or programs as the city does not have any such initiatives funded by federal grants or loans.
Matt Koester, the Chanute USD 413 superintendent, said he didn't have enough information at this time to know the impact on schools.
"We will continue to monitor the situation and would expect some information from the Kansas State Department of Education regarding how this will impact our funding," Koester said in an email to the Tribune.
Parsons Police Chief Robert Spinks said he and other police chiefs and police agencies across the state are discussing the pause.
“We have not yet received any specific information on the exact breadth, depth or timeline in this federal announcement. We are hoping that funding to governmental agencies may be exempt. The focus in part looks to be directed at education, non-profits and health care research among a host of other grants and loans,” Spinks wrote in an email to the Sun.
The Parsons Police Department receives partial grant funding for a school resource officer and a detective. Additionally, the department receives a state grant that is federal pass-through funds for its Domestic Violence Unit (DVU).
“Of course when these grants were accepted by the City Commission it was clear that there would be a need to establish long-term funding either through a vote on a new 1/2 cent public safety sales tax, or a reorganization of existing funding within city government or simply killing these valuable programs and services,” Spinks wrote. “So this remains a fluid situation for the Parsons Police Department as well as law enforcement throughout Kansas. This also includes questions about federal grant dollars that support the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center (KLETC), which is housed as part of the University of Kansas. KLETC is investigating potential impacts to their operation which could include a ground breaking on a multi-million construction project for new police dorms, and training classrooms.”
He said he would release updates as they come available.
The Kansas Department of Transportation, which receives federal funding for road and bridge projects, is evaluating the directive from the Trump administration to understand its impact on state programs, according to Priscilla Petersen, a regional KDOT spokesperson.
KDOT Public Information Officer Cheryl Cadue gave a similar response.
"We are reviewing the recent White House directives and awaiting further guidance from federal partners. This is a dynamic situation, and we are evaluating the potential impacts these directives may have on KDOT programs. KDOT will adapt as updates become available to manage ongoing and future projects effectively," Cadue said in an email to the Sun.
