White House sends aid freeze questionnaire to federal agencies

Aidan Quigley, CQ-Roll Call on Jan 28, 2025

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WASHINGTON — The Office of Management and Budget on Tuesday morning sent out instructions to agencies for complying with the massive federal funding freeze announced the night before, asking detailed questions targeting foreign aid, support for migrants, climate, diversity programs and abortion.

The documentation request follows guidance issued Monday night which ordered all federal agencies to temporarily stop the obligation and disbursement of federal grants and loans except for Social Security, Medicare and other programs providing direct aid to individuals.

Tuesday’s instruction sheets ask the federal agencies to inform OMB about all planned obligations and disbursements through March 15, and asks for a response by Feb. 7. The documents ask the agencies to identify a “senior political appointee” responsible for overseeing each program, as the Monday night memo ordered. The agencies are asked to also identify the estimated date of the next obligation or disbursement of funds.

The spreadsheet includes specific questions for over 2,600 specific accounts within agencies across the government, large and small — every Cabinet department and independent agencies ranging from the Federal Communications Commission to the Institute of Museum and Library Services to the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation.

The questions, intended to ensure that federal programs are in compliance with Trump’s executive orders and policy goals, include the following:

•“Does this program provide Federal funding to non-governmental organizations supporting or providing services, either directly or indirectly, to removable or illegal aliens?”

•“Is this program a foreign assistance program, or provide funding or support activities overseas?”

•“Does this program provide funding that is implicated by the revocation and rescission of the U.S. International Climate Finance Plan?”

•“Does this program include activities that impose an undue burden on the identification, development, or use of domestic energy resources (including through funding under the Inflation Reducing (sp) Act of 2022; and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act)?”

•“Does this program provide funding that is implicated by the directive to end discriminatory programs, including illegal DEI and ‘diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility’ (DEIA) mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities, under whatever name they appear, or other directives in the same EO, including those related to ‘environmental justice’ programs or ‘equity-related’ grants?”

•“Does this program promote gender ideology?”

•“Does this program promote or support in any way abortion or other related activities identified in the Hyde Amendment?”

•“If not covered in the preceding columns, does this program support any activities that must not be supported based on executive orders issued on or after January 20, 2025 (including executive orders released following the dissemination of this spreadsheet)?”

Few federal programs appear exempt from the White House’s investigation into their compliance with Trump’s policy preferences, with the OMB casting a very wide net. Among the 2,600-plus accounts the questionnaire seeks answers about:

•Consumer Product Safety Commission funding to implement the 2007 pool and spa safety law named for Virginia Graeme Baker, a 7-year-old girl who drowned in a hot tub after being trapped by the suction from its drain.

•Pentagon research to support detection and treatment of the effects of chemical, biological and radiological warfare agents.

•Department of Health and Human Services funding for teaching hospitals and rural hospitals, including funds distributed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

•Justice Department funds ranging from tribal law enforcement assistance to aid to victims of mass violence and acts of terror to the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, which reimburses for state and local costs incurred in incarcerating undocumented migrants.

•Numerous tax credits and deductions including for income earned by U.S. citizens abroad, as well as interest payments on the public debt.

•Grants for veteran suicide prevention efforts.

•NASA’s Space Operations account, which if held up could hinder efforts to return to the moon and Mars. The president talked about that in his inaugural speech, to the delight of Elon Musk seated behind him.

Democrats immediately blasted the administration’s action, which is certain to face litigation.

“The scope of what you are ordering is breathtaking, unprecedented, and will have devastating consequences across the country,” Senate Appropriations ranking member Patty Murray, D-Wash., and House Appropriations ranking member Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., wrote to acting White House budget director Matthew Vaeth late Monday.