President Donald Trump has found a fight that he does not want to pick after backlash to his sweeping freeze on federal aid threatened to consume the start of his second term.
In less than 48 hours, the Office of Management and Budget issued and then rescinded a memorandum that instructed departments to pause all financial assistance that does not comply with administration policy. The decision came after states reported being locked out of payment portals for Medicaid and other federal help.
On Capitol Hill, Trump faced bipartisan complaints as constituents and affected groups flooded lawmakers’ offices with phone calls.
The White House maintains that the rescission was to “end any confusion” after a judge temporarily halted the order’s implementation. In the same statement, press secretary Karoline Leavitt denied the White House had reversed course.
“The President’s EO’s on federal funding remain in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented,” she said, blaming the media for the lack of clarity.
Still, the decision was uncharacteristic for Trump, who revels in doubling and tripling down in the face of controversy.
Just hours earlier, OMB signaled its intention to stick with the memo, releasing guidance that made clear the freeze on federal aid was far more narrow than initially feared.
“I would say the media backlash wasn’t worth it once the courts stepped in, and he can do 80% of it with” executive orders, said a Republican familiar with the White House’s thinking. “He is smart and wants to keep his positive numbers in polling.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said the lack of clarity surrounding the funding freeze had given Congress whiplash.
“Pretty soon, you’re gonna see us all wearing those neck braces,” she told reporters on Wednesday.
The chaotic response marks one of the first stumbles of Trump’s second term and a rare instance of his White House bending to public pressure.
The White House has issued other executive orders that have been similarly challenged in court, among them his attempt to end birthright citizenship, yet the funding freeze had given fresh ammunition to Democrats, still reeling from the outcome of the 2024 election, to call his administration “cruel.”
“This is Donald Trump — he throws hand grenades in the middle of the room and then cleans it up afterwards. It’s just who he is. He sends messages that way,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) said on Wednesday.
“He maybe didn’t understand the breadth of it when it was done,” Cramer added.
Trump has attempted to move past the controversy, grabbing headlines on Wednesday with his announcement that he would detain illegal immigrants at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
But the episode suggests that the early missteps of Trump’s first term are being repeated in his second. The memo that sparked the fallout was not properly vetted by key White House officials, according to the New York Times. And it immediately drew comparisons to the chaotic rollout of Trump’s “travel ban” on immigrants from Muslim-majority countries.
The ban, also challenged in court, led to mass disorder at airports.
Ultimately, the memo’s withdrawal marks the second time Trump has faced congressional upset since his election to a second term. He also created heartburn on Capitol Hill with his nomination of former Rep. Matt Gaetz to be attorney general.
Gaetz withdrew his name days later in the face of opposition from GOP senators who balked at the idea of a partisan firebrand running the Justice Department.
“I guess the best way to put it is: Advice and consent still kind of works once in a while,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) said of Trump’s withdrawal of the memo.
Freshman Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA) thanked Pennsylvania constituents for their input in a post on X, saying their outreach “made a difference.” He later clarified his post had been referring to the rescinded OMB memorandum, not all of the underlying executive orders.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), the chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, stopped short of criticizing the memo right after it came out Tuesday, only mentioning that she was “surprised by its breadth.”
However, on Wednesday, she said she was satisfied that the Trump administration withdrew the OMB order.
“While it is not unusual for incoming administrations to review federal programs and policies, this memo was overreaching and created unnecessary confusion and consternation,” she said in a statement.
The memo was just one part of Trump’s flurry of executive actions since returning to the White House. He’s issued a slew of orders rolling back Biden-era policies and declaring, among other things, an emergency at the southern border.
One Republican operative called the situation “an example of when appointees and staff put wonky, ideological initiatives ahead of political concerns.”
“The White House should slow down the shock and awe strategy and focus on what got Trump elected, which will require legislating through Congress,” the operative said, speaking on condition of anonymity to reflect candidly on the situation.
“Trump paints things with very broad brushstrokes, and that usually works for him,” added Doug Heye, a Republican strategist, “but questions about specific government services and things like the Medicaid portal are details that clearly can cause a big backlash on Capitol Hill and throughout the states.”
“That’s why you saw so many Republican governors not criticizing the measure, per se, but at least asking for some clarity because they didn’t necessarily understand the impacts of it either,” he added.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) took a victory lap following the order’s rescission, boasting that the Trump administration had responded to an “outcry across America.”
“He should now rescind Russell Vought’s nomination for OMB. Russell Vought is the chief cook and bottle washer. We believe they’ll come back and try to do this in other ways,” Schumer said on Wednesday.
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He called the change “a small victory” but emphasized “it’s a long war” Democrats will need to continue to fight. Republicans regard Trump’s order as part of a larger goal of paring back federal spending.
“They are going to keep at it, the executive orders are still there, Vought is still their nominee for the head of OMB, and they are going to find every which way to get this done,” Schumer said.
Ramsey Touchberry contributed to this report.
