Article originally posted at 4:05 p.m. Corrections posted at 5:00 p.m.
A Washington, D.C., District Court judge blocked a Trump Administration freeze on federal loans and grants, including federal student aid, the Pell Grant, SNAP and Section 8 housing.
Judge Loren AliKhan blocked the freeze minutes before it took effect, and the order expires Feb. 3 at 4 p.m. There will be no change in fund disbursement until at least next Monday.
A White House Office of Management and Budget memo originally announced the freeze late on Jan. 27. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a press conference today that the freeze would be temporary.
School administrators were uncertain about how this freeze on federal loans and grants would affect students receiving federal financial aid. However, the U.S. Department of Education said the freeze would not affect “assistance received directly by individuals” hours after the press conference, according to USA Today.
“At this time, we have no additional information to provide regarding this action,” Becca Smitty, Director of MT One Stop, said. “When we do, we will gladly share with campus.”
Around 35% of MTSU students receive Pell Grant, according to BestColleges, and 60% of first-year MTSU students received need-based financial aid in 2022, according to U.S. News.
“Without [the Pell Grant], I don’t think I could still attend MTSU,” MTSU student Maci Jacobs said. “Because I am a college student who is already working part-time, and without the money, I don’t think I could [continue]…College is something that I have looked forward to and has been the next step.”
This policy would affect SNAP–Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program providing food benefits to low-income families–and Section 8 housing–a program that assists low-income families in paying rent.
State Medicaid agencies say they have already been unable to access federal funding, as well as Head Start early learning development programs, as reported by CNN.
Some states filed lawsuits, claiming that the policy is unconstitutional. The lawsuits say the policy may also violate the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which required the president to report to Congress on all budget withholdings.
It is unclear exactly what programs will be affected by the policy, but the memo specifically targets “Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies” that do not “improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve.”
“Any program not implicated by the President’s Executive Orders is not subject to the pause,” reads the memo.
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