With the exceptions of Social Security and Medicare benefits, the federal government has paused issuing grants, loans, and all other forms of financial assistance.

That means funding for schools. That means funding for disaster relief. That means grants to state and local governments. That means homebuying assistance.

Nobody knows what exactly will happen or for how long this will go on. They also don't know whether it's legal: This was done by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), under the direction of President Donald Trump, not Congress, which generally gets say over how such funds are directed.
You are reading Reason Roundup, our daily, morning newsletter.

"This temporary pause will provide the Administration time to review agency programs and determine the best uses of the funding for those programs consistent with the law and the President's priorities," wrote the acting director of the OMB in a memo announcing the freeze, which will go into effect at 5 p.m. tonight.

"In Fiscal Year 2024, of the nearly $10 trillion that the Federal Government spent, more than $3 trillion was Federal financial assistance, such as grants and loans," reads the memo. "Career and political appointees in the Executive Branch have a duty to align Federal spending and action with the will of the American people as expressed through Presidential priorities. Financial assistance should be dedicated to advancing Administration priorities, focusing taxpayer dollars to advance a stronger and safer America, eliminating the financial burden of inflation for citizens, unleashing American energy and manufacturing, ending 'wokeness' and the weaponization of government, promoting efficiency in government, and Making America Healthy Again. 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."

It's a little Trumpian toward the end there, and will surely introduce maximum chaos, but also worth cheering: This is the aggressive reexamination of federal spending that libertarians have long sought.