On January 27, the Trump administration released a memo halting federal grant, loan, and financial assistance program payments without warning. An Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memo was published as part of a promise by the Trump administration to review whether the frozen funding was “consistent” with broader policy. The memo put over 39,000 grant-funded health programs in jeopardy.

Multiple non-profits raised concerns not only over the number of Americans who benefit from grant-funded programs, but also the memo’s apparent violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs the process for issuing regulations from federal agencies. Further backlash from lawmakers, businesses, and voters was immediate and significant, and several lawsuits were filed to halt the order, with reports that all 50 states’ Medicaid payment systems were inaccessible during an early period of confusion.

The memo was rescinded on January 29, but comments from White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt have sparked further confusion. Leavitt promised that rescinding the OMB memo was not the end of the federal funding freeze policy and that the executive order would “remain in full force and effect, and [would] be rigorously implemented.”

During his recent Senate confirmation hearings to become Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was questioned about how he will protect Medicaid and engage with President Trump in the face of recent executive orders and activities with the potential to impact healthcare funding. Kennedy’s often factually incorrect responses have left many legislators concerned, including some Republicans, though it is still expected that he will be successfully confirmed. Read more here, here, and here.