©  Mark Schiefelbein, Associated Press

PRESIDENT TRUMP SENT WASHINGTON into a frenzy with his sweeping move to freeze federal assistance programs, which provoked lawsuits, outrage and confusion about the status of government programs.

The abrupt action, issued through a memo from the budget office late Monday night, put a pause on most federal loans and grants, while requiring a review period to ensure the spending aligns with Trump’s executive orders.

The White House insists the freeze is not a “blanket pause” on all federal assistance programs, saying that Social Security, Medicare, food stamps and other welfare benefits would not be impacted.

“If you are receiving individual assistance from the federal government, you will continue to receive that,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during her first official press briefing.

However, Democratic lawmakers said their states had been blocked from the Medicaid payment portal. Although, by Tuesday afternoon, some states reported they had regained access to the portal.

“This is a blatant attempt to rip away health insurance from millions of Americans overnight and will get people killed,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) posted on X.

The White House claimed the Medicaid portal outage was unrelated to the federal freeze.

"No payments have been affected — they are still being processed and sent," Leavitt posted on X. "We expect the portal will be back online shortly."

Federal agencies have have until Feb. 10 to review whether loans and grants should be eliminated due to the executive orders Trump issued on border security, the federal workforce, the military, the “weaponization” of government, and other actions he's signed during his first eight days in office.

States and local governments have been combing through the broadly worded memo to determine what programs will be on the chopping block.

Some of the programs that receive funding through federal assistance programs, including those that provide meals to low-income children and seniors, reported uncertainty about whether they’d been impacted.

The Department of Education issued a statement Tuesday saying the pause would not affect federal student loans or Pell grants. 

Democrats believe the freeze is illegal because Congress controls appropriations.

“Congress approved these investments, and they are not optional. They are the law,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said.

The Trump administration is arguing that the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is illegal, and that prior to that, presidents had power to withhold congressional spending.

Democrats are desperate for a way to thwart Trump’s move.

Democratic-run states, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, are suing to block the freeze. 

Senate Democrats are pushing to postpone a vote scheduled Thursday on Russell Vought, who Trump tapped to lead the Office of Management and Budget.

“Trump’s actions would wreak havoc in red and blue communities everywhere,” said Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.), the ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee. “This is funding that communities are expecting, and this memo is creating chaos and confusion.”

Nearly two dozen Senate Democrats flipped their votes to “no” on Sean Duffy’s nomination to lead the Transportation Department.

Duffy’s nomination advanced 97-0 Monday. After the federal freeze announcement on Tuesday, Duffy was confirmed in a 77-22 vote, signaling that any Democratic goodwill around advancing Trump’s nominees has evaporated with the drop of the new budget memo.

Some Republicans are expressing discomfort with Trump’s latest move, such as Sen. Susan Collins (Maine), the chair of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee. 

“I think there is benefit in taking a look at federal spending. But this is far too sweeping and will have an adverse effect on the delivery of services and programs.”

“I do appreciate that the administration did not apply it to Social Security, Medicare direct benefit programs, but nevertheless it does have a large impact on the provision of a lot of services and programs."

Democrats are up in arms after the Trump administration fired or reassigned at least a dozen Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyers, some of whom worked on his criminal cases.

Reps. Jamie Raskin (Md.) and Gerry Connolly (Va.), the top Democrats on the Judiciary and Oversight committees, wrote in a letter:

“This onslaught against effective DOJ civil servants began within hours of President Donald Trump’s inauguration, in complete contradiction of the president’s repeated pledges to maintain a merit-based system for government employment.”

More moves:

• Two federal employees are suing the Office of Personnel Management to block the agency from creating a new email distribution system, arguing that  a former staffer to Elon Musk should not have access to their government emails.

• Trump fired all three Democrats on the privacy oversight board.

• The Justice Department suspended four career environmental lawyers.

• Dozens of staff at the U.S. Agency for International Development have been placed on leave.

Lawmakers in both parties are seeking answers after Trump abruptly fired 17 inspectors general.

The law requires the president give Congress 30 days notice and reasons for such a move. Watchdogs view it as an effort to block oversight of the new administration.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and ranking member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) are asking the Trump administration to provide its rationale for the firings, as required by law.

“The law must be followed. The communication to Congress must contain more than just broad and vague statements; rather, it must include sufficient facts and details to assure Congress and the public that the termination is due to real concerns about the Inspector General’s ability to carry out their mission,” the senators wrote.

“IGs are critical to rooting out waste, fraud, abuse, and misconduct within the Executive Branch bureaucracy, which you have publicly made clear you are also intent on doing."