What happened
The White House budget office Monday ordered all federal agencies to halt the disbursement of grants and loans, a sweeping but confusing directive that challenged the separation of powers and added to the upheaval in Washington after President Donald Trump's first week in office. The State Department paused most foreign aid on Friday. Federal health officials were told Monday to immediately stop all cooperation with the World Health Organization.
Who said what
The scope and legal future of the spending freeze is unclear, Politico said, but it "could affect billions of dollars in grants to state and local governments while causing disruptions to programs that benefit many households."
The unexpected "sudden stoppage" of WHO cooperation could hinder work to stop the spread of viral diseases in Africa and bird flu outbreaks worldwide, The Associated Press said. Doctors and aid workers were told to halt treating people with HIV/AIDS in Africa. The U.S. is "no longer going to blindly dole out money with no return for the American people," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said to NPR.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
The funding pause, scheduled to begin Tuesday evening, will purportedly last until a review determines if the programs aligned with Trump's policies. But "no one should believe" this is "only temporary," or legal, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement. "Congress approved these investments and they are not optional; they are the law."
-
Democrats’ strategy to woo voters for 2026: religionThe Explainer Politicians like Rob Sand and James Talarico have made a name for themselves pushing their faith
-
Pregnancy in AmericaFeature Why is it getting riskier to give birth in the U.S.?
-
The potential warning sign of an auto lender’s bankruptcyIn the Spotlight Tricolor collapse an ‘extreme example’ of economy’s challenges
-
Venezuela: Was Trump’s air strike legal?Feature A Trump-ordered airstrike targeted a speedboat off the coast of Venezuela, killing all 11 passengers on board
-
3 killed in Trump’s second Venezuelan boat strikeSpeed Read Legal experts said Trump had no authority to order extrajudicial executions of noncombatants
-
Is Kash Patel’s fate sealed after Kirk shooting missteps?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The FBI’s bungled response in the immediate aftermath of the Charlie Kirk shooting has director Kash Patel in the hot seat
-
Russian drone tests Romania as Trump spinsSpeed Read Trump is ‘resisting congressional plans to impose newer and tougher penalties on Russia’s energy sector’
-
Trump renews push to fire Cook before Fed meetingSpeed Read The push to remove Cook has ‘quickly become the defining battle in Trump’s effort to take control of the Fed’
-
Will Donald Trump’s second state visit be a diplomatic disaster?Today's Big Question Charlie Kirk shooting, Saturday’s far-right rally and continued Jeffrey Epstein fallout ramps-up risks of already fraught trip
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-warTalking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
-
Calls for both calm and consequences follow Kirk killingTALKING POINTS The suspected assassination of far-right activist Charlie Kirk has some public figures pleading for restraint, while others agitate for violent reprisals
