President Trump's top budget office has directed agencies to pause federal loans and grants so the administration can review them.

A White House order to freeze federal grants reflects a theory of presidential power that Donald Trump clearly endorsed during his 2024 campaign. The approach was further outlined in the Project 2025 governing treatise that candidate Trump furiously denied was a blueprint for his second administration.

A U.S. judge on Wednesday said he was inclined to temporarily block the Trump administration from pausing federal loans, grants and other financial assistance, intervening at the behest of Democratic state attorneys general amid confusion over White House spending policy.

The Monday evening memo from Trump's White House Office of Management and Budget sparked uncertainty over a crucial financial lifeline for states, schools and organizations that rely on trillions of dollars from Washington.

A federal judge signaled he will issue a temporary restraining order barring the Trump administration from freezing federal loans and grants.

The Trump administration on Wednesday rescinded a sweeping directive to pause federal loans, grants and other financial assistance, a White House official said, just shortly before it was set to appear in court for a second straight day to defend the policy.