White House Press Secretary Carolyn Leavitt denied the information circulated in the media about the alleged lifting of the freeze on federal financial aid from the United States.
She emphasized that the order of President Donald Trump remains in force, and funding for federal programs, in particular humanitarian initiatives in Ukraine, is still under restrictions.
The White House explained the situation with the freeze on federal funding
– This does not mean the lifting of the freeze on federal funding. This is simply a rescission of the Office of Budget Management memo, Leavitt wrote on X.
She explained that the move was made “to clear up any confusion that arose from the injunction”.
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Leavitt also emphasized that Trump's executive orders on federal funding remain in effect and continue to be implemented.
Has the White House really lifted the aid freeze?
On January 29, CNN and several other media outlets reported that the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a memo rescinding the previous order to stop federal aid.
– OMB Memo M-25-13 is being rescinded. If you have questions about implementing the executive orders, please contact your agency's general counsel, the document says.
On January 27, OMB ordered a temporary halt to all federal grants and loans, sparking a wave of criticism and concern among U.S. lawmakers and state officials.
A federal court temporarily blocked the freeze after a lawsuit by activist group Democracy Forward argued that the OMB order violated the First Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act.
In addition, the attorneys general of the District of Columbia and 22 states filed a separate lawsuit seeking to overturn the order entirely.
How this affected humanitarian aid to Ukraine
The U.S. decision to temporarily halt funding for humanitarian programs has prompted President Volodymyr Zelensky to order officials to report on U.S. aid projects that could be affected by the move. Today there was an initial report by officials and the team of the Office of the President of Ukraine on this issue.
Deputy Head of the Office of the President Iryna Vereshchuk announced plans to hold talks on restoring funding for humanitarian initiatives.
Meanwhile, USAID confirmed that it is completely suspending funding for all programs in Ukraine for 90 days under the State Department's directive on auditing international aid.
Ukrainian organizations and local governments have already received notification of the need to stop implementing projects that were financed by USAID or other American structures.
USAID operates in more than 100 countries, including Ukraine. Its funds are being used to rebuild schools, provide health care, and repair critical energy infrastructure.
Since the start of the full-scale invasion, the agency has allocated $2.6 billion to Ukraine for humanitarian needs and $5 billion for development.
