Latest news with #MatthewVaeth
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
UIC faculty hold rally to protest federal cuts, freezes
CHICAGO — Faculty from the University of Illinois Chicago held a rally Wednesday against federal cuts and freezes. Those that participated said if proposed cuts and freezes go through with regard to federal grants, not only will faculty and staff jobs be on the line, but student opportunities and vital programs that impact Chicago will be on the chopping block. Those working and doing research at UIC say they depend on funding from multiple agencies within the Department of Health and Human services to train the next generation of clinicians. They're researching topics that include life-saving treatments for cancer, Alzheimer's, diabetes and how AI can be incorporated into health. They say the money that funds these projects could soon run out. The rally was part of a national one, with similar protests taking place in Boston, Atlanta and St Louis. More News, Weather and Headlines at The White House said last month it was pausing federal grants and loans as the Republican administration began an across-the-board ideological review. The freeze could affect trillions of dollars 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. '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,' said a memo from Matthew Vaeth, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget. Democrats and independent organizations said the move was illegal because Congress had already authorized the funding. The Associated Press contributed to this report Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
White House budget office rescinds federal funding freeze
The Trump's administration's Office of Management and Budget released a memo Wednesday rescinding a controversial order that froze a wide swath of federal financial assistance, which had paralyzed many federal programs and caused a huge uproar on Capitol Hill. The decision came amid strong behind-the-scenes pushback from Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill, according to a GOP senator who was apprised of the decision to reverse the policy order. The reversal was signed by Matthew Vaeth, the acting director of the White House budget office. One GOP senator expressed relief over the decision. 'Chaos is never good,' the lawmaker said. GOP senators had been flooded with calls from community leaders who expressed confusion and concern about losing federal grants. Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) applauded the administration's sudden change in course. 'I am pleased that OMB is rescinding the memo imposing sweeping pauses in federal programs. While it is not unusual for incoming administrations to review federal programs and policies, this memo was overreaching and created unnecessary confusion and consternation,' she said in a statement. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) indicated that White House officials reviewed the funding freeze after getting pressed by GOP lawmakers who had many questions about how it would affect their constituents. 'From our part, we were simply asking questions and a number of members did,' he said. 'I think this is probably just a really good example of advise and consent. 'That means more than just nominees. Once in a while, it's an advise and consent about a particular action,' he added. The biggest snafu was the outage of Medicaid's web portal, which affected many states and caused a loud public outcry. The internet outage also affected Head Start early education programs and community health. Programs that lost access to the payment management portal run by the Department of Health and Human Services. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters that Republican senators should vote against Trump's nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget, Russ Vought, to make sure the budget office doesn't advance another funding moratorium. 'As you know Donald Trump just rescinded this horrible OMB freeze. He should now rescind Russell Vought's nomination for OMB,' Schumer said. 'We don't believe they'll stop,' he said. 'What they're basically doing is being lawless to hurt families to help their billionaire friends. So they're going to keep at it.' This story was updated at 1:51 p.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
White House budget office rescinds federal funding freeze memo
The Trump's administration's Office of Management and Budget released a memo Wednesday rescinding a controversial order that froze a wide swath of federal financial assistance, which had paralyzed many federal programs and caused a huge uproar on Capitol Hill. The decision came amid strong behind-the-scenes pushback from Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill, according to a GOP senator who was apprised of the decision to reverse the policy order. The reversal was signed by Matthew Vaeth, the acting director of the White House budget office. One GOP senator expressed relief over the decision. 'Chaos is never good,' the lawmaker said. GOP senators had been flooded with calls from community leaders who expressed confusion and concern about losing federal grants. Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) applauded the administration's sudden change in course. 'I am pleased that OMB is rescinding the memo imposing sweeping pauses in federal programs. While it is not unusual for incoming administrations to review federal programs and policies, this memo was overreaching and created unnecessary confusion and consternation,' she said in a statement. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) indicated that White House officials reviewed the funding freeze after getting pressed by GOP lawmakers who had many questions about how it would affect their constituents. 'From our part, we were simply asking questions and a number of members did,' he said. 'I think this is probably just a really good example of advise and consent. 'That means more than just nominees. Once in a while, it's an advise and consent about a particular action,' he added. The biggest snafu was the outage of Medicaid's web portal, which affected many states and caused a loud public outcry. The internet outage also affected Head Start early education programs and community health. Programs that lost access to the payment management portal run by the Department of Health and Human Services. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters that Republican senators should vote against Trump's nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget, Russ Vought, to make sure the budget office doesn't advance another funding moratorium. 'As you know Donald Trump just rescinded this horrible OMB freeze. He should now rescind Russell Vought's nomination for OMB,' Schumer said. 'We don't believe they'll stop,' he said. 'What they're basically doing is being lawless to hurt families to help their billionaire friends. So they're going to keep at it.' This story was updated at 1:51 p.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
White House rescinds federal aid freeze
The White House Office of Management and Budget has rescinded the federal aid freeze, according to a memo obtained by CNN from a Trump administration official. 'OMB Memorandum M-25-13 is rescinded. If you have questions about implementing the President's Executive Orders, please contact your agency General Counsel,' the memo reads. The White House budget office had ordered the pause on federal grants and loans, according to an internal memorandum sent Monday, which unleashed confusion and anxiety even as the White House said it was not as sweeping an order as it appeared. Though White House aides publicly blamed the media for causing the confusion, arguing that none existed within the building, the administration had received a flood of calls from lawmakers and state officials with questions about its impact on their home states. Federal agencies 'must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance,' White House Office of Management and Budget Acting Director Matthew Vaeth said in the original memorandum, a copy of which was obtained by CNN, citing administration priorities listed in past executive orders. On Tuesday afternoon, a federal judge temporarily blocked part of the Trump administration's aid freeze. This is a breaking story and will be updated.
CBS News
29-01-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
White House budget office rescinds memo ordering funding freeze after chaos
Washington — The White House Office of Management and Budget on Wednesday walked back a memo that ordered a freeze on federal assistance, less than two days after the directive led to chaos and confusion around the country as to what programs would be impacted. The latest two-line memo from acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget Matthew Vaeth states that the earlier directive is rescinded. It directs those with questions about implementing President Trump's executive orders to contact the general counsels at their agencies. The White House sent shockwaves when it issued the guidance late Monday that requested agencies temporarily pause "to the extent permitted by law" grant, loan or federal financial assistance programs that were implicated by Mr. Trump's executive orders. The memo, from Vaeth, noted that $3 trillion was spent in 2024 on federal assistance programs. It directed agencies to submit to the White House budget office by Feb. 10 detailed information on the programs, projects or activities subject to the funding freeze. The full scope of the directive was not clear, and it left nonprofits, small businesses, universities and other entities scrambling to determine whether they would be impacted, and congressional offices faced an onslaught of questions from constituents and organizations fearing they would lose federal dollars. While the White House's memo stated Medicare or Social Security benefits would not be impacted, state Medicaid agencies, federally-funded Head Start early education programs and community health centers said they were cut off from accessing a web portal run by the Department of Health and Human Services. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later clarified there was an "outage" that affected the portal, and said no payments were affected. In addition to sowing confusion, the memo sparked numerous lawsuits, including from a nonprofit coalition and Democratic state attorneys general. A federal judge in Washington, D.C., swiftly convened a hearing on a request from the nonprofit groups to temporarily block enforcement of the freeze, and agreed Tuesday to issue a brief pause to fully consider the matter. Democrats, meanwhile, lambasted the move by Mr. Trump's administration and accused him of depriving states, cities, towns, schools and hospitals of billions of dollars in federal support. "This decision is lawless, dangerous, destructive, cruel. It's illegal, it's unconstitutional," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said during a news conference Tuesday. Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington, requested Senate Republicans hold off on advancing the nomination of Russ Vought for director of the Office of Management and Budget.
