It’s likely that the latest move by the White House will only sow more confusion since none of the orders specify exactly what qualifies. The initial directive from OMB this week threw state and local officials into panic, sparking concerns that federal funding for health care, education and even emergency aid for the Los Angeles fires would be suddenly halted.
It wasn’t theoretical: A number of states, including California, said the portal that they use to receive Medicaid funds from the federal government was temporarily unusable Tuesday. The White House said payments would not be affected.
California officials, who joined with nearly two dozen states to sue over the funding freeze, are continuing to pursue their suits. The state case, filed in Rhode Island, is progressing; at a hearing Wednesday on a temporary restraining order, the judge expressed support for the position of the Democratic attorneys general and asked them to draft a temporary restraining order within 24 hours.
A separate lawsuit filed by a group of nonprofits that receive funding from the federal government led to Tuesday’s temporary suspension of the directive minutes before it was set to take effect.
Jan. 29: A previous version of this story said a hearing on a temporary restraining order in the states’ lawsuit was scheduled for Thursday. It was underway Wednesday.