Medicaid Portal Goes Dark After Trump's Federal Funding Freeze Directive

US President Donald Trump's funding freeze order released by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) stated it would halt billions of dollars in domestic and foreign aid as part of the billionaire Republican's agenda.

In a memo released Monday night, OMB acting director Matthew J. Vaeth said the funding freeze would go into effect at 5 p.m. ET on 28th January. The memo directed all federal agencies to "temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all federal financial assistance" that might not align with Trump's agenda.

Despite White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt's debut briefing highlighting that Medicare and Social Security programmes weren't blocked, the Medicaid program's portal wasn't working in several states.

The abrupt halt on federal grants and loans triggered confusion across the agencies, lawmakers, state programmes, and non-profits who rely on funding. Although it isn't clear the exact funding programmes that will be paused, the OMB sought details of over 2,600 programmes, including school meals for low-income students, the WIC nutrition programme for pregnant women and infants, and even a reintegration scheme for homeless veterans. In theory, US programmes from the Pentagon to American towns remain under threat.

Federal Judge Blocks Order To Freeze Aid Just In Time

US District Judge Loren L. AliKhan imposed a short-term halt on Trump's funding freeze plans just before it was set to go into effect. He argued: "The government doesn't know the full scope of the programmes that are going to be subject to the pause."

If the freeze had been implemented on Tuesday, it could have disrupted funding for various programmes involving healthcare, education, infrastructure, cancer research, food assistance, and federal student aid.

Despite the judge's intervention, several non-profits complained of not being able to get into systems used to access federal funds. Elsewhere, panic spread across the education sector yesterday as the provost at several universities urged professors to halt research spending.

Furthermore, the cash flow for the early childhood education programme called Head Start was blocked in some places before the government clarified that it wasn't included in the directive. Uncertainty remains across states about the future of housing services and healthcare programmes.

Trump Offers 2M Federal Workers The Option To Resign

On Tuesday, the Trump Administration offered almost two million federal workers the option to resign as part of efforts to dramatically trim the federal workforce. However, those who take the offer will receive pay through September.

The US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) informed federal employees through an email with the subject line "Fork in the Road" that they could leave their posts by responding to the email with the word "resign." The offer is valid until 6th February. Those who accept the offer will be placed on paid administrative leave until the end of September.

The OPM email highlighted that most federal agencies would be downsized, and many employees would be furloughed or reclassified to "at-will status." At the same time, those working remotely must work from offices five days a week. Furthermore, several physical offices will face consolidation, leading to employee relocation.

The message also said that "enhanced standards of conduct" would be applied to ensure that workers were "reliable, loyal, trustworthy" and warned that "at this time, we cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency." However, some workers, such as military personnel, Postal Service workers, and immigration officials, would be exempt from the offer.