UNITED NATIONS, Jan 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. Agency for International Development has told all aid groups to immediately pause all U.S.-funded programs "until further notice" as humanitarian groups grapple with a lack of clarity on waivers to President Donald Trump's 90-day aid pause . All USAID payments have also stopped. The agency made no payments on Tuesday for the first time since the fiscal year began on Oct. 1, according to U.S. Treasury data. On Monday USAID paid out $8 million and last week a total of $545 million....

The White House budget office on Wednesday rescinded an order freezing federal grants, according to a copy of a new memo obtained by The Washington Post, after the administration’s move to halt spending earlier this week provoked a backlash. In a memo dated Wednesday and distributed to federal agencies, Matthew J. Vaeth, acting director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, states that OMB memorandum M-25-13 “is rescinded.” That order, issued Monday, instructed federal agencies to “temporarily pause all activities related to obligations or disbursement of all federal...

Jan 29 (Reuters) - The White House said on Wednesday it was prepared to fight in court after a U.S. judge temporarily blocked part of the Trump administration's sweeping directive to pause federal loans, grants and other financial assistance.

"Everything this administration does is within the confines of the law, so we're prepared to fight this battle in court," White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters outside the White House.

The judge's ruling on Tuesday was a win for advocacy groups who said the funding pause would be devastating.

Among the ongoing grants in the state are billions of dollars for broadband service to those without access; help for public health agencies to respond to infectious diseases; and money to improve teaching in high-poverty schools, expand child health assistance to uninsured, low-income children and provide special education to children with disabilities. What programs are untouched? Social Security benefits, Medicare and food stamps are exempted from the freeze, according to a memo from the Office of Management and Budget.

Former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said on Tuesday that President Trump’s federal aid freeze could end up at the Supreme Court. “How does this end? This is already in the courts, you know [the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)] better than anyone, how does this end?” NewsNation’s Blake Burman asked Mulvaney on “The Hill.” “In this building across the street, not the one with the dome, but the one with the fancy columns in front, this goes to the Supreme Court,” Mulvaney responded. Late Monday, federal...

The city of Austin is working to assess which of its programs and services will be impacted by a freeze in federal grant funds after the Trump Administration ordered agencies to halt the flow of what could total trillions of dollars in financial assistance. In a statement that described the issue as "critical," Austin City Manager T.C. Broadnax said the city was compiling the total amount of grant funding for all city programs that might be affected by the freeze. He didn't name any programs but noted that federal grant...

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Oregon leaders condemned the Trump administration's temporary freeze on federal grants and loans on Tuesday, shortly before a federal judge blocked the funding pause from taking effect for now. The big picture: The planned funding pause has caused widespread confusion on how it could impact local programs, services and agencies, like police and fire departments, as well as public health initiatives that depend on federal dollars. • Oregon joined 21 other states and D.C. in a lawsuit against the administration over the directive, which was set to take effect 5pm...

Karoline Leavitt didn't immediately say if Medicaid recipients will be affected. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, during her first press briefing on Tuesday, faced a barrage of questions on the administration's freeze on federal financial assistance programs that congressional Democrats called flatly illegal. Agencies face a 5 p.m. ET deadline to comply with a memo from the White House Office of Management and Budget to cease spending on any grant or loan programs if they suspect it might conflict with President Donald Trump's recent executive orders on DEI, foreign...

The Trump White House on Tuesday defended a widespread pause on federal grants and loans in the face of confusion among nonprofit groups and outrage from Democrats over the order. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt fielded several questions at her first briefing about the pause, which was announced late Monday and goes into effect Tuesday at 5 p.m. “It is a temporary pause, and the Office of Management and Budget is reviewing the federal funding that has been going out the door,” Leavitt said. She emphasized that programs providing direct benefits...