Office of Management and Budget
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2025
OMB Director Vought froze $18 billion in congressionally-appropriated NYC infrastructure funds, citing pretextual DEI review
On October 1, 2025, the first day of the government shutdown, OMB Director Russell Vought announced a freeze of approximately $18 billion in Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funds earmarked for two major New York City projects — the Gateway Hudson River Tunnel and the Second Avenue Subway extension — claiming a review was needed to ensure funds were not "flowing based on unconstitutional DEI principles." The freeze blocked reimbursements already owed, including an immediately due $300 million disbursement, and targeted projects in districts represented by Senate and House Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries. Critics and legal experts said the DEI rationale was pretextual and that the Impoundment Control Act prohibits such unilateral executive withholding of appropriated funds.
Trump signed EO 14238 directing elimination of USAGM, IMLS, and five other congressionally-created agencies
On March 14, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14238, "Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy," directing seven congressionally-created federal agencies — including the United States Agency for Global Media (parent of Voice of America), the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the CDFI Fund — to eliminate all non-statutory functions and reduce statutory functions to the legal minimum. Each agency head was required to submit a compliance report to the Office of Management and Budget within seven days, and OMB was directed to reject funding requests inconsistent with the elimination mandate. Courts subsequently ruled that several of the closures exceeded executive authority, as only Congress can abolish agencies established by statute.
Acting OMB Director Vaeth issued Memo M-25-13, ordering immediate freeze of all federal grants and loans pending executive-order compliance review
On January 27, 2025, acting OMB Director Matthew Vaeth issued Memorandum M-25-13, directing all federal executive branch agencies to immediately pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of federal financial assistance, effective 5:00 p.m. EST the following day. The directive nominally covered an estimated $3 trillion in annually appropriated federal funds, including grants, loans, foreign aid, DEI programs, and climate initiatives. A district court issued an administrative stay on January 28; OMB rescinded the memo on January 29, though the White House declared the underlying freeze authority remained in force.