Trump blames bureaucrats, NGOs for grant crackdown
The move marks a noteworthy shift from past administrations, where civil servants have played major roles in dishing out the federal government's vast grant spending. That was done in part to avoid the appearance of political appointees playing favorites, according to former government officials.
But after months of the Trump 2.0 team slashing spending across the federal government, the administration said concentrating grantmaking authority with political appointees will stop 'unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats from wasting taxpayer dollars.'
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The Trump executive order issued Thursday directs each agency head to designate a senior appointee to create a new process to review funding announcements and to renew discretionary grants to ensure that they're 'consistent with agency priorities and the national interest.'
The order aims to give political appointees more direct control over a sizable chunk of federal spending. In fiscal 2024, the federal government spent $1.1 trillion just on state and local government grants to fund programs including environmental protection and education.
The Trump administration's so-called Department of Government Efficiency boasts on its website that it has terminated more than 15,000 government grants worth about $44 billion since January.
The administration 'has already terminated many wasteful grants,' the White House said in a fact sheet. The executive order, it says, 'helps ensure that bureaucrats can't make the same mistakes in the future.'
A 'significant departure'
Trump assailed a series of grant recipients in his executive order as evidence that the process was broken, including programs that funded 'drag shows in Ecuador, trained doctoral candidates in critical race theory, and developed transgender-sexual-education programs.'
Federal grants have also gone to 'non-governmental organizations that provided free services to illegal immigrants, worsening the border crisis and compromising our safety, and to organizations that actively worked against American interests abroad,' the executive order says.
Agency bosses across the Trump administration have spent months touting cuts to federal grants and contracts inked by the Biden administration.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin declared earlier this year that the 'days of irresponsibly shoveling boat loads of cash to far-left, activist groups in the name of environmental justice and climate equity are over.'
Zeldin on Thursday announced that his agency would terminate $7 billion in grants to help states, nonprofits and territories bring solar power to low-income communities.
The National Science Foundation has announced the cancellations of more than 1,000 federal grants since Trump took office. Trump earlier this year proposed slashing that agency's funding by 57 percent.
The Trump administration's crackdown on grant approvals marks a 'significant departure' from how the process has worked previously, said Matthew Tejada, a former senior career EPA staffer who led the agency's environmental justice office.
'I can't name a grant program that did not have political appointee involvement, but there were varying levels of that involvement, depending on the size and scope and gravity of the program,' said Tejada, who's now a senior vice president at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Political appointees in the past have sought to avoid the appearance that they were meddling in the grantmaking process, Tejada said.
He called Trump's approach an 'ineffective, unrealistic way of governing' that will ultimately slow down the grantmaking process. 'The bureaucracy exists to help facilitate government working effectively and efficiently, and this is going in the opposite direction,' Tejada said.
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USA Today
a few seconds ago
- USA Today
No Open in sight, but with DP World Tour event, Donald Trump's foothold in Scotland grows
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Buzz Feed
a few seconds ago
- Buzz Feed
Trump-Themed Restaurant Owner Faces Deportation
If you haven't heard, there is a Donald Trump-themed restaurant in Houston, Texas called "Trump Burger." The popular Texas chain sells hamburgers with the letters "T-R-U-M-P" etched into the buns... They have detailed artwork of Trump hanging on the walls... Oh, AND their menu includes items like the "Melania Crispy Chicken" and the "Barron Crispy Grilled," as well as a promise to "Make Burgers Great Again." Well, the "Trump Burger" has recently gone viral due to its owner being arrested by ICE for allegedly overstaying his visa. Roland Mehrez Beainy, the 28-year-old Houston "Trump Burger" owner, was reportedly arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement for allegedly failing to depart the US last year after arriving in 2019 on a non-immigrant visitor visa from Lebanon. An ICE spokesperson said this in a statement about Beainy's arrest: "Despite false claims to the contrary, Roland Mehrez Beainy does not have any immigration benefits that prevented his arrest or removal from the United States. Beainy is a 28-year-old illegal alien from Lebanon who entered the United States in 2019 as a non-immigrant visitor, but he failed to depart by Feb. 12, 2024, as required under the terms of his admission." "ICE officers arrested him on May 16, 2025, and he was placed into immigration proceedings. On June 13, an immigration judge granted his request for bond while he undergoes his proceedings." "Under the current administration, ICE is committed to restore integrity to our nation's immigration system by holding all individuals accountable who illegally enter the country or overstay the terms of their admission. This is true regardless of what restaurant you own or political beliefs you might have." While awaiting his immigration court hearing set for November, Beainy has denied the charges, telling Chron, a Houston news website: "Ninety percent of the shit they're saying is not true." Obviously, the internet had some thoughts on this one, with multiple people comparing the news to a South Park episode... "South Park Creators rn: WRITE THAT DOWN WRITE THAT DOWN.." "They really thought it would affect everyone else but themselves," this person wrote. And finally, this person pointed out that Trump doesn't seem to care about his own supporters... What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.
UPI
2 minutes ago
- UPI
Mexico's Sheinbaum says no to 'invasion' by U.S. military
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