New Trump memo to end 'confusion' on funding freeze still needs 'clarity,' says Nevada AG Aaron Ford

The Trump administration, days after issuing a memo that froze federal spending on grants and loans, backpedaled today, intending to “end any confusion” but instead only added to the uncertainty sparked by the initial decision.

Two days after the freeze was ordered, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has issued a new, two-sentence memo and said the previous one calling for the “temporary pause of agency grant, loan, and other financial assistance programs” had been “rescinded.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said OMB’s Wednesday memo was not an indication of the administration changing its mind on the spending freeze.

“This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze. It is simply a rescission of the OMB memo,” Leavitt wrote on X. “Why? To end any confusion created by the court's injunction. The President's (executive orders) on federal funding remain in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented.”

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford’s office replied to Leavitt’s post, criticizing the ambiguity.

“Americans deserve far more clarity on an issue like this than has been forthcoming from the White House,” the office wrote. “We will continue our legal challenges to this unconstitutional action and will be in court this afternoon.”

U.S. District Court Chief Judge for the District of Rhode Island John J. McConnell Jr., hearing a case brought by Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford and 22 other attorneys general, said he was inclined to issue a new pause on the administration’s order Wednesday afternoon.

McConnell is the second judge seeking to halt the funding freeze. Before the order was intended to go into effect Tuesday afternoon, U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan temporarily blocked part of it, allowing the flow of some funding already granted by the federal government until hearing more arguments set for Monday.

Ford said the Trump administration's actions brought "widespread concern and confusion in Nevada."

"I hope that this lawsuit is decided swiftly in the States' favor to assuage any fears that our community and partners may have about potential impacts to vital services," Ford wrote in a statement.

Sarah Rice for the Rhode Island Attorney General’s office referenced Leavitt’s social media post during the court hearing — to which McConnell joked he never expected in law school that X posts would be used as exhibits of evidence.

Rice said the post shows “the chaos continues,” and McConnell seemed to agree. McConnell said he was inclined to grant the states the restraining order because of likeliness the “inappropriate” effects of Trump’s order “are going to continue and that hasn’t changed based on comments by the president’s press secretary.”

He added it would be difficult to block the potential harms of the order since the memo was the impetus for the freeze and has now been removed, so figuring that out is the first step.

Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., also quoted Leavitt's post in a conference alongside Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Wednesday.

"That means they are still blocking investments Congress passed into law to help our communities. They are still blocking things like international aid, clean air and water projects, investments in new clean energy jobs, and a lot of other projects funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which Trump is stopping with his illegal executive orders," Murray said.

She continued, adding this week's plans have been a preview of "more lawless cuts, more chaos, more pain for our families." Murray urged Congress to take a stand-by not voting to confirm Trump's pick for OMB director, and architect for conservative guidebook Project 2025, Russell Vought.

After agencies received the initial memo from the OMB on Monday, it sparked a barrage of panic for what that would mean for education, research grants and health services. Nevada, which has relied on billions of federal funds for revenue, saw its public institutions and services join in that confusion.

On Tuesday, both UNLV and UNR and organizations including Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority, Nevada Department of Transportation and Nevada Department of Health said they were looking to see how they may or may not be affected by the halt of funds.

Nevada Health Centers, a private nonprofit providing health care services to more than 50,000 people in the state annually, said federal funds for its 330 Grant were still paused as of Wednesday morning. Those funds represent about 20% of the organization’s overall operating budget.

Leavitt has said that lack of clarity is only coming from the media and the court rather than from the memo itself.

The White House Office of Communications called the confusion a "hoax" and denied Trump's directive to temporarily pause certain federal spending was rescinded.

"No such thing took place. Instead, a memo from the Office of Management and Budget was rescinded in an effort to alleviate confusion — and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed President Trump’s order remains 'in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented' as the administration works to root out waste, fraud, and abuse,'" the office wrote.

The goal of the freeze is to ensure federal agencies’ spending aligned with Trump’s executive orders barring diversity, equity and inclusion programs, “woke gender ideology” and the Green New Deal.

“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,” OMB Acting Director Matthew Vaeth wrote in the now-rescinded memo.