Judge halts Trump's funding freeze as administration offers payouts to federal workers

Trump said tonight on Truth Social that he asked tech billionaire Elon Musk and his SpaceX company to retrieve two NASA astronauts who have been stranded on the International Space Station since the summer.

“I have just asked Elon Musk and @SpaceX to 'go get' the 2 brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned in space by the Biden Administration," Trump wrote. "They have been waiting for many months on @Space Station. Elon will soon be on his way. Hopefully, all will be safe."

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been at the International Space Station since their Boeing spacecraft encountered problems midflight in June.

NASA said tonight that the astronauts "are currently slated to return to Earth in March aboard a Dragon spacecraft already docked to the International Space Station."

In his first interview since the election, former Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, rebuked the Trump administration over its directive to freeze federal funds to states and nonprofit groups.

Walz told MSNBC that he expects the freeze to hit red states hard and that some of them will “pay the price” more than his state would. He also chastised Republican governors who have not spoken out against the freeze.

“The deafening silence of Republican governors, these are my colleagues, some of them are my friends, but shame on you. You know what this is doing. And look, I come from a wealthy state that has the lowest childhood poverty rates, and we have a strong safety net. I guarantee you, these Republican states would pay the price more than us, and they’re just silent on it,” Walz said on "The Rachel Maddow Show."

Some Republican governors, such as Louisiana's Jeff Landry and New Hampshire's Kelly Ayotte, have raised some concerns about the freeze, but others, like Virginia's Glenn Youngkin, have praised Trump’s move.

As a federal judge temporarily halted Trump’s federal funding freeze, NBC News’ Ellison Barber talks to California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Meals on Wheels CEO Ellie Hollander about the impacts of a potential freeze.

Charlotte Burrows and Jocelyn Samuels, two of three Democrats serving on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, said today that they are considering legal options after they received emails last night from the White House informing them that Trump was removing them from their roles.

"Removing me, along with Commissioner Samuels, well before the expiration of our terms is unprecedented and will undermine the efforts of this independent agency to do the important work of protecting employees from discrimination, supporting employers’ compliance efforts, and expanding public awareness and understanding of federal employment laws," Burrows said in a statement.

Samuels similarly referred to the move as "unprecedented" in a statement on X that contended her termination was unlawful and that work to protect employees from unlawful discrimination "is an American value; it is not — and should not be — a partisan issue."

A pair of Trump-endorsed Republicans easily won a pair of special House primaries today in Florida, setting them up to fill two vacant, deep-red seats and pad the party’s slim House majority.

The Associated Press projected the primary in Florida’s 6th District for state Sen. Randy Fine shortly after polls closed in the district at 7 p.m. ET, with Fine taking more than 80% of the GOP primary vote.

State Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis had more than two-thirds support in the GOP primary in the 1st District when the AP called his race soon after 8 p.m. ET, easily outpacing a crowded field of candidates.

Read the full story here.

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, the principal agency tasked with carrying out Trump’s promise of mass deportations, faces a budget shortfall, and Trump administration officials are considering pulling funding from the Transportation Security Administration to make up for it, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.

The administration is also looking at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Coast Guard as possible areas from which to take money to give ICE.

The executive branch is allowed to move money appropriated by Congress from one agency to another within a department, and the Trump administration would not be the first to do so to make up for an ICE budget shortfall.

Read the full story here.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to become the first foreign leader to meet with Trump during his second term with a trip to the White House next week.

A White House official confirmed to NBC News that Trump had extended an invitation to Netanyahu and that he accepted. Netanyahu’s office said they agreed to meet Feb. 4.

“I look forward to discussing how we can bring peace to Israel and its neighbors, and efforts to counter our shared adversaries,” Trump wrote in a letter to Netanyahu today.

Read the full story here.

Elected Republicans in Washington and around the country largely supported the Trump administration’s attempt to freeze federal aid programs amid the chaos and confusion sparked by the budget office’s sweeping directive.

Across the board, GOP members of Congress and governors generally said that they backed the idea of reviewing federal spending and that the order was in line with Trump’s campaign promises. Still, a few said it was important for the White House to provide more clarity to ensure certain services weren’t affected.

“This is not unusual for an administration to pause funding and to take a hard look and scrub of how these programs are being spent and how they interact with a lot of the executive orders that the president signed,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters when he was asked whether Republicans plan to accept Trump’s move or assert the power of the purse given to Congress.

Read the full story here.

Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said today that the Trump administration's funding freeze stems from "a contempt" for "underprivileged communities."

“Following the Trump Administration’s most recent attack on families, minority communities, students, and seniors is not only flagrantly illegal but is inherently rooted in racism and a contempt for our nation’s most underprivileged communities," Espaillat said in a statement. "We will not remain silent in the face of such flagrant disregard for the fundamental values and ideals of who we are as a nation.

"This latest, illegal OMB memo issued by Trump is an incitement and chaos move, which again proves that President Trump and Republicans are intent on prioritizing the interest of billionaires and corporations over those of working families, minority communities, students, and seniors," he added.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment on Espaillat's statement.

Trump today signed a broad executive order targeting transition-related medical care for minors.

The order, titled Protecting Children From Chemical and Surgical Mutilation, intends to restrict access to gender-affirming medical care — including puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgery — for minors, which it defines as those younger than 19.

It prohibits federal funding from covering such care for minors, restricts research and education grants to medical schools and hospitals and directs the secretary of health and human services to issue regulations to end such care for minors. The order also directs all federal agencies to rescind guidance from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, a nonprofit association dedicated to transgender medical care that issues guidance widely used by health care professionals.

Read the full story here.

Johnson said that Trump's remarks yesterday musing about running for a third term were "clearly tongue in cheek" and that "we laughed about it."

"Of course, I can't change the Constitution, but, you know, there are means to do that. I don't think he's suggesting a constitutional amendment," Johnson said during a fireside chat The Hill hosted at the GOP retreat in Florida.

Trump said yesterday, “I’ve raised a lot of money for the next race that I assume I can’t use for myself, but I’m not 100% sure.”

“Am I allowed to run again? Mike, I better not get you involved in that,” he added, referring to Johnson.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said he "fully supports" the Trump administration's effort to freeze federal grants, saying that it was "not a big thing" and that direct aid to individuals is not in the White House memo.

Johnson added that the directives would halt federal aid pending a review, which he said would be "temporary" and "quick," calling it an "application of common sense."

"I don't think this is big in a major interruption of programming or anything," Johnson said. "I think this is something that the American people will approve of."

The directive, which a federal judge in Washington, D.C.m temporarily blocked from going into effect, has set up a constitutional showdown.

West Virginia’s new Republican senator, Jim Justice, is already unmissable in the Capitol — standing 6-feet-7, moving around the complex using a bright red mobility scooter and never far from his 62-pound bulldog, Babydog.

But don’t expect him to start his time in Washington as a key swing vote like his predecessor.

Justice replaced Democratic-turned-independent Sen. Joe Manchin, who was one of the most influential — and unpredictable — members of the Senate. Manchin regularly frustrated his party by breaking with Democrats over key priorities, but he was also a bipartisan dealmaker who helped broker significant legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act, which appropriated funding for projects in his state.

Read the full story here.

Twenty-two states and Washington, D.C., sued the Trump administration today over its planned federal funding freeze, minutes after a federal judge in Washington temporarily blocked the pause from going into effect.

The states are challenging the freeze on the grounds that it is “arbitrary and capricious” and that it violates the separation of powers, having “overridden” Congress’ judgments to disburse funding for federal grant programs.

“The OMB Directive violates the separation of powers because the executive branch has overridden the careful judgements of Congress by refusing to disburse funding for innumerable federal grant programs—some of which are even formula grants dictated by precise statutory formulas. Pausing funding under the affected programs and permanent refusal to disburse funds appropriated by Congress contrary to congressional intent and directive both violate the separation of powers,” attorneys general argued in the lawsuit.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., has released Russell Vought's responses to a questionnaire he submitted during the confirmation process to lead the Office of Management and Budget that sheds light on his claim that the 2020 election being "rigged."

Vought wrote "I believe that the 2020 election was rigged" in response to one of Whitehouse's questions for the record about whether Biden defeated Trump that year.

Vought’s nomination has become a top target for Senate Democrats in the wake of the Trump administration's effort to freeze federal funding.

The Trump administration’s attempt to withhold federal funding is fueling a long-brewing legal battle over the core constitutional principle that Congress gets to decide how to spend taxpayer money.

And as with Trump’s early executive order on birthright citizenship, the fight is leading to immediate litigation that could quickly end up at the Supreme Court.

A lawsuit filed by nonprofit groups has already led a federal judge to temporarily put Trump’s plan on hold.

Read the full story here.

The Trump administration is set to offer every single federal worker the chance to take “deferred resignations” with severance packages of roughly eight months of pay and benefits.

A senior administration official told NBC News the administration expects 5% to 10% of the federal workforce to quit, which, it estimates, could lead to around $100 billion in savings.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement: “American taxpayers pay for the salaries of federal government employees, and therefore deserve employees working on their behalf who actually show up to work in our wonderful federal buildings, also paid for by taxpayers. If they don’t want to work in the office and contribute to making America great again, then they are free to choose a different line of work, and the Trump Administration will provide a very generous payout of 8 months.”

Read the full story here.

In a letter today urging the Senate to reject Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination for health and human services secretary, Caroline Kennedy referred to her cousin as a “predator.”

Caroline Kennedy, a former U.S. ambassador to Australia and the daughter of President John F. Kennedy, said RFK Jr. was unqualified to lead HHS, which oversees 13 federal agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Among her many criticisms in the letter to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Kennedy said that “siblings and cousins who Bobby encouraged down the path of substance abuse suffered addiction, illness and death.”

Read the full story here.

A federal judge paused the start of the Trump administration’s federal funding freeze until Monday. The freeze had been scheduled to take effect at 5 p.m. ET today.

The pause doesn’t address the legality of the freeze; it just allows the court more time for briefings and to hear arguments on nonprofit groups' request for a temporary restraining order that would halt the freeze for 14 more days.

U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan will hear arguments on the motion for a temporary restraining order at 11 a.m. ET Monday.

Read the full story here.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt made her debut in the White House briefing room, where she defended Trump’s plans to slash federal spending and mass deportation efforts.

Leavitt, the youngest White House press secretary ever, faced repeated questions about the decision to unexpectedly freeze federal aid last night. She argued that it was what Americans expected when they elected Trump and that the latest actions by his administration are simply fulfilling a promise.

“That’s what this pause is focused on, being good stewards of tax dollars,” she said.

Read the full story here.

American citizens, including citizens of Native tribal nations, have been pulled into the vast immigration operations Trump ordered in accordance with his campaign vow to conduct mass deportations since Day One.

Those who are getting caught in Immigrations and Customs Enforcement raids are being targeted because of their race or skin color, according to witnesses.

The Navajo Nation Office was flooded with calls from tribal members living off-reservation, many of whom reported being questioned about their identities by ICE officers, Native News Online reported.

Read the full story here.

Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., blocked an effort by Democrats to pass a resolution condemning Trump’s pardon of Jan. 6 rioters.

Barrasso blocked the resolution on the Senate floor this afternoon and cited President Joe Biden’s pre-emptive pardoning of his family members and key lawmakers who served on the House Jan. 6 committee as the reason.

All 47 Senate Democrats signed on to the resolution, which would not have had any material effect on the pardons. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., was the last Democrat to sign on, calling it a “performance art vote.”

The Education Department said the freeze on federal grants and loans won't affect student loans or financial aid for college.

The freeze, which could affect billions of dollars in aid, noted an exception for Social Security and Medicare. The pause “does not include assistance provided directly to individuals,” according to the White House memo announcing the freeze.

The pause gives the White House time to review government funding for causes that don’t fit with Trump’s policy agenda, said Matthew J. Vaeth, acting director of the White House Office of Management and Budget.

Read the full story here.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said widespread concern over the federal aid freeze was a “partisan stunt to disseminate knowingly misleading information” that is “dangerous fear mongering and completely wrong.”

“I’ve spoken to senior officials at the White House and confirmed the temporary pause by OMB does not impact individual assistance and will not interrupt disaster recovery efforts, school and childcare funding, healthcare for seniors or low-income families, funding for our roads, meals and lunches, or any other misinformation that has spread,” Youngkin, a Republican, said in a statement.

The White House confirmed that Medicaid sites were shut down across the country, despite previous assurance that the freeze would not affect individual assistance programs. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration expects the portals to be up and running again shortly.

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein said he is "concerned" about the federal aid freeze and its potential impact on Hurricane Helene recovery efforts in the western part of the state.

"I am concerned that freezing federal funding will hurt North Carolinians, especially those recovering in WNC," Stein, a Democratic, wrote on X. "My office is currently reviewing and seeking clarity about what OMB’s order to freeze federal grants means for our state. We are also working with federal partners to ensure people in WNC get the support they need."

Michigan's Budget Office said it's working to determine how the Trump administration's funding freeze will affect the state and programs like Medicaid and Head Start.

“Federal funding is critical to protecting the health and safety of all Michiganders—ensuring drinking water is clean and food is safe, keeping people in their homes and the power on, and funding homeland security and emergency management," State Budget Director Jen Flood said in a statement today.

Flood also said that nearly $34 billion of Michigan's budget is built on federal funding. That equates to 42% of the state's annual budget.

Top Republicans in Louisiana issued a joint statement today in support of Trump’s order to halt federal aid disbursement, while also urging the White House Office of Management and Budget to make sure state-level finances remain intact.

“We urge OMB to develop a responsible runway to untangle us from any unnecessary and egregious policies without jeopardizing the financial stability of the state,” Gov. Jeff Landry, along with members of his Cabinet and state legislators, said in the statement.

They said Trump was “elected on a mandate” to enact orders that they said are aimed at cutting government waste, but noted that OMB needs to develop a “responsible runway” for cutting government spending.

Newly confirmed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem argued today that DHS essentially has "jurisdiction over everything."

"We have jurisdiction over people who live here, people who leave here and people who come here. We have jurisdiction over products that come into this country and which ones leave. We have jurisdiction over our internet, what comes in, what goes out," Noem said.

“Virtually, I tell people we have jurisdiction over everything, and we will exercise all legal authorities that we have to protect this country,” she added.

A group of 23 attorneys general from blue states including California, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Illinois have filed a lawsuit seeking to block the federal freeze from taking effect.

The lawsuit asks for a temporary restraining order, calling Trump's executive order "arbitrary and capricious."

"There is no question this policy is reckless, dangerous, illegal and unconstitutional, from the families who rely upon head start for child care, to the children across the country who depend on SNAP for their next meal, to the seniors who rely on state services to get the care that they need," New York Attorney General Letitia James told reporters. "This policy will disrupt the lives of millions of Americans."

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed in a post that Medicaid websites are down throughout the country.

"The White House is aware of the Medicaid website portal outage. We have confirmed no payments have been affected — they are still being processed and sent," she wrote.

Leavitt said they expect the portals to be up and running again shortly.

Since the halt in federal aid was announced, members of Congress and other officials from several states have announced on social media that Medicaid websites in their states have gone down or suffered access issues.

A Massachusetts man arrested at the Capitol yesterday with a Molotov cocktail allegedly told police he wanted to kill Scott Bessent, who was confirmed by the Senate the same day to be Trump's treasury secretary.

A criminal complaint today said Ryan English turned himself in to police at the entrance of the Capitol, and announced that he had two Molotov cocktails and knives on him.

Police said they found two of the homemade incendiaries and one knife. English said he'd been planning on killing Bessent, and had also intended to target Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and House Speaker Mike Johnson. He said he wanted to "send a message," the complaint said.

He's charged with unlawful possession of the Molotov cocktail and carrying an explosive on Capitol grounds.

Sen. Chris Murphy and other Connecticut officials confirmed that the state’s Head Start reimbursement system, which provides low-income families with federal money to support their children’s education, is shut down. 

The confirmation came despite assurances from the White House that federal assistance that goes directly to individuals would not be affected by Trump’s halt to federal aid disbursement. 

A state government official told NBC News there is “immediate concern” over the impact that the freeze in aid will have on state residents who rely on it. 

In addition to the Head Start program, several offices within the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood have been affected by the freeze, including the state Birth to Three program, which provides assistance to new mothers, as well as the federal Child Care Development Fund and Maternal Infant Early Childhood Home Visiting program. 

“We are closely monitoring this development, analyzing the impact, and remain in close contact with federal partners and our congressional delegation as we develop ways to protect these critical programs,” Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said.

National Education Association President Becky Pringle slammed Trump's move to freeze federal funding, calling the measure "unprecedented, illegal and reckless."

“Creating chaos is not leadership," Pringle said in a statement, adding that the freeze "will hurt students, communities, and public schools — especially students in lower-income communities who benefit most from federal funding."

Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Dick Durbin, D-Ill. — the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee — sent a joint letter today to Trump asking him to provide an explanation for his recent firing of 18 inspectors general "immediately."

In the letter, the bipartisan duo notes members of Congress were not provided the 30-day notice for the removal of inspectors general that's required by law.

"While IGs aren’t immune from committing acts requiring their removal, and they can be removed by the president, the law must be followed," the senators' letter reads. "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."

During the White House press briefing, NBC News’ Peter Alexander asked if Trump’s deportation priority has changed from what he said on the campaign trail, that violent criminals would be the focus. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the focus is on all criminals in the U.S., which includes people who are in the country illegally.

Members of Congress from several states flagged on social media that, contrary to assurances from the Trump White House, the Medicaid sites in their states were down following the administration's announcement of a freeze in federal aid.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., and Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., were among those announcing the interruptions in the websites.

"I’m calling on Trump to undo this chaos IMMEDIATELY," Heinrich wrote.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., also said his staff had confirmed similar problems across the country.

"My staff has confirmed reports that Medicaid portals are down in all 50 states following last night’s federal funding freeze," Wyden wrote. "This is a blatant attempt to rip away health insurance from millions of Americans overnight and will get people killed."

NBC News has not independently confirmed whether Medicaid portals have been shut down.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, when asked about potential interruptions in aid, that “Medicare benefits, food stamps, welfare benefits, assistance that is going directly to individuals, will not be impacted by this pause.”

When asked if she would guarantee that no one on Medicaid would be cut off because of the new policy, Leavitt said she would have to check.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in a letter to his members that the Democratic Caucus will have an "emergency meeting" tomorrow afternoon in response to what he called the "Republican Rip Off," referring to Trump's aid pause.

"Republicans are ripping off hardworking Americans by stealing taxpayer dollars, grants and financial assistance as part of their corrupt scheme to pay off billionaire donors and wealthy corporations," Jeffries wrote.

"The Republican Rip Off will raise the cost of living for the working class, while hurting children, seniors, veterans, first responders, houses of worship and everyday Americans in need," he continued.

Jeffries said the caucus will meet tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET to discuss "a comprehensive three-pronged counteroffensive anchored in: (1) an appropriations strategy; (2) a litigation strategy; and (3) a communications strategy."

Federal agencies will target three U.S. cities per week for large-scale immigration arrests according to sources familiar with Trump’s mass deportation plans.

Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., defended the affects of the White House’s federal aid freeze on school lunch programs by suggesting that some children should be working instead of receiving free lunch.

During an interview on CNN, McCormick praised the move as a way to broadly re-evaluate how the government allocates funding. CNN anchor Pamela Brown noted that Head Start, which helps provide nutritional assistance to low-income children and families, is one of the programs that could be affected. She pressed McCormick on whether he would support cutting funding for free breakfast and lunches.

“Before I was even 13 years old, I was picking berries in the field, before child labor laws that precluded that. I was a paper boy, and when I was in high school, I worked my entire way through,” McCormick said. “You’re telling me that kids who stay at home instead of going to work at Burger King, McDonald’s, during the summer, should stay at home and get their free lunch instead of going to work? I think we need to have a top-down review.”

McCormick, who was speaking from Doral, Florida, where House Republicans are holding their annual issues conference, said that the pause on federal funds gives the government a chance to “see where is the money really being spent.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt pushed back on questions on Trump's sweeping decision to halt federal funding, telling reporters "this is not a blanket pause."

"Well, I think there's only uncertainty in this room, amongst the media — there's no uncertainty in this building," she said, referring to questions on the widespread concerns about the White House's broad halt to domestic and foreign aid. "So let me provide the certainty and the clarity that all of you need. This is not a blanket pause on federal assistance and grant programs from the Trump administration."

Leavitt said that "individual assistance" like Social Security, Medicare, food stamps and other welfare benefits will not be affected by the pause.

"If you are receiving individual assistance from the federal government, you will still continue to receive that," Leavitt said. "However, it is the responsibility of this president and this administration to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars."

At her first news briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump shared with her today that the drones that were spotted flying over New Jersey for weeks were "not the enemy."

"The drones that were flying over New Jersey in large numbers were authorized to be flown by the FAA for research and various other reasons," she said, referring to the Federal Aviation Administration. "Many of these drones were also hobbyists, recreational and private individuals that enjoy flying drones. In time, it got worse due to curiosity. This was not the enemy."

The Trump administration’s attempt to withhold federal funding is fueling a long-brewing legal battle over the core constitutional principle that Congress gets to decide how to spend taxpayer money.

And like President Donald Trump’s early executive order on birthright citizenship, the fight is leading to immediate litigation that could quickly end up at the Supreme Court, with some Democrats already signaling plans to sue.

Read the full story here.

Trump’s federal aid halt is not a freeze, but rather is meant as guidance for agencies to ensure grants, loans and programs are in compliance with the president’s executive orders, according to an Office of Management and Budget memo.

The memo emphasizes that Trump’s order does not affect programs providing individual payments or assistance, such as SNAP or student loans. As long as an agency determines that its programs receiving federal funding comply with the Trump administration’s policies, a pause “could be as short as a day.”

The memo set off a flurry of confusion and panic Tuesday among nonprofit organizations, which said they were unable to access federal government systems used to withdraw previously awarded federal funds.

The National Council of Nonprofits and the American Public Health Association have filed a lawsuit seeking a temporary retraining order against the Trump administration over the federal aid pause.

The organization is seeking a pause in the aid freeze to “maintain the status quo until the Court has an opportunity to more fully consider the illegality of OMB’s actions.”

“This Memo — made public only through journalists’ reporting, with barely twenty four hours’ notice, devoid of any legal basis or the barest rationale — will have a devastating impact on hundreds of thousands of grant recipients who depend on the inflow of grant money (money already obligated and already awarded) to fulfill their missions, pay their employees, pay their rent — and, indeed, improve the day-to-day lives of the many people they work so hard to serve,” the groups wrote. 

They call in the suit for the yet-to-be-assigned judge to “declare unlawful and set aside" the White House memo "as arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law."

The Planned Parenthood Action Fund said Trump's freeze on federal grants will have "immediate and damaging consequences" for health care.

“President Donald Trump restricted health care in his first term, and he’s intent on doing it again this time around," Karen Stone, vice president of public policy and government relations at the pro-abortion advocacy group, said in a statement.

Stone said the measure will make it "harder for people to get essential care and services, including for sexual and reproductive health."

"Already, the new stop work order on foreign aid is putting the health and lives of people around the world at risk," she continued.

Sens. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., expressed support for Trump's freeze of federal grants and loans by 5 p.m. this evening.

Tuberville said Trump’s halt is “right on target” for accomplishing his agenda.

“He’s not halting, he’s reviewing it, and in a certain amount of time, he’s gonna release it again," Tuberville said. "That’s what he ran on. He ran on looking at everything he possibly could to evaluate where the money’s going, is it going to the right place?”

Schmitt echoed him, emphasizing that the purpose of the freeze is to review where federal money is being spent.

“I think it’s a review time,” Schmitt said. “I also think that a lot of these grants were predicated on divisive, discriminatory and illegal DEI, so we’ll find out more.”

Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., said that he has been on the phone throughout the day with multiple agencies who have been "cut off."

"We’ve been on the phone with multiple agencies/orgs. They’ve been completely cut off from federal money. We’re talking housing, homeless services, public safety, etc," he wrote, adding that he would be holding a news conference later today on the issue.

Shortly after 11 a.m. ET, ICE agents attempted to conduct a raid on a private home here in Westchester County. Video taken by a witness showed five ICE agents approaching the home, with one agent initially attempting to enter through the front door before stepping back out and knocking.

Agents waited outside the home while knocking for several moments, but no one came to the door. After a few moments, the agents departed in a vehicle with no one in custody. The home the agents knocked is a private residence, not a business.

Neighbors and witnesses told NBC News that there had been a serious fire at the home within the last five years and that they believed several families were now living at the home.

The incident, which occurred in less than five minutes, quickly unleashed a torrent of panic in this demographically diverse village about 30 miles north of New York City. According to the most recent Census data, nearly half of the village’s residents identified as Hispanic.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker's team has received reports of issues accessing federal funding sites and disbursement systems, including Medicaid, according to a senior aide.

Pritzker has been speaking to members of Congress, local elected officials, nongovernmental organizations, nonprofits and other governors, and has directed his team to assess the impact of the Trump administration's action on the state's budget and services.

"The US Constitution does not grant the President this unilateral authority," Pritzker said in a statement last night. "In Illinois, we will stand against unlawful actions that would harm millions of working families, children, and seniors."

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander urged Mayor Eric Adams to file a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its freeze on federal aid, saying in a statement today that now is not the time to “cower in the face of a bully who is stealing our lunch money.”

Lander, who is chiefly responsible for managing New York City’s budget and financial health, demanded a lawsuit against what he called the “illegal action” of halting federal aid disbursement, adding that a suit would prevent Trump from “illegally breaking promises that the federal government made to the City of New York.”

“New Yorkers rely on those federal funds for food stamps, for housing payments, for child care, for our hospitals, for special education, for our infrastructure — even for school lunches,” Lander said. “It’s unconstitutional and risks shattering the foundation of trust that American government is built on — that the federal government will keep the financial promises it makes.”

Adams, who has pleaded not guilty to federal public corruption charges including bribery, wire fraud and soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals, has met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate to discuss the new administration’s priorities and has engaged in talks with Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, on immigration enforcement. 

The Senate has voted 77-22 to confirm former Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis., as the new transportation secretary. 

His nomination, which only required a simple majority to be confirmed, had advanced unanimously, 97-0, yesterday.

A slew of Democrats voted no on Duffy’s nomination today in protest over Trump’s decision to freeze federal funds that had already been appropriated and signed into law.

“I’m just so aghast and appalled by this funding freeze, I can’t support a nominee for the Transportation Department when he has power over road building, bridge reconstruction that now is frozen in Connecticut,” Sen Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said after voting no on Duffy’s nomination.

Blumenthal had voted yes to advance Duffy's nomination yesterday, but switched to no after the funding freeze was announced.

“If this was only about Sean Duffy becoming confirmed for secretary of transportation, I think there would have been unanimous support for him on the floor today,” Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., said.

An abrupt freeze on nearly all federal grants and loans announced last night by Trump’s administration has created widespread confusion across the government, Congress, state programs and nonprofit organizations that rely on federal funding.

The Office of Management and Budget sent a vaguely worded two-page memo to all federal agencies last night directing them to “temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance.”

The agency also sent an 836-page spreadsheet, obtained by NBC News, asking federal agencies that provide financial assistance for details on a range of programs. Those include the federal Pell Grant program; school meals for low-income students; the WIC nutrition program for pregnant women and infants; wildfire preparedness; the Medicare enrollment assistance program; USAID foreign assistance; mine inspections; and a reintegration program for homeless veterans, among others.

OMB asked for the information to be submitted by Feb. 7.

On Capitol Hill, lawmakers scrambled to figure out what the funding freeze would mean for their constituents.

Read the full story here.

Democratic Congress members are condemning Trump's move to freeze federal aid as "poor management" and part of an effort to "oversaturate us with nonstop chaos."

"Trump is risking funding that supports rent assistance, education, childcare, tribal communities, even suicide prevention for veterans," Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., said in a post on X.

"This slapped-together directive is not only illegal, it’s dangerous," Gallego said.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., called the move a "blitzkrieg," saying, "Trump is trying to collapse our democracy — and probably our economy — and seize control."

"The freezing of federal grants, the firing of all inspector generals, the immunization of political violence — does everybody not see what’s happening?" the senator added in his post.

The Education Department said the freeze on federal aid will not affect Federal Pell Grants and loans.

"The temporary pause does not impact 'assistance received directly by individuals,'" department spokesperson Madi Biedermann said. "As such, Title IV, HEA funds that are provided to individual students, such as Federal Pell Grants and Direct Loans, are not impacted by yesterday’s guidance."

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., said he disagrees with the Trump administration’s decision to freeze nearly all federal aid, which has created widespread confusion across the government, federally supported programs and Congress.

“I hope it’s short-lived,” Bacon told reporters today as he walked to another meeting at the House GOP retreat. “There’s no reason for the disruption.” 

Bacon said he’s heard from constituents asking his office about the pause in funding this morning.

“I know a lady that runs a before-school program and after-school program, and part of it’s funded by the grants, and so it obviously affects her ability to do that job,” he said. 

Asked if he’s concerned that Trump is taking power away from Congress, he said that the president “likes a little disruption” but that the freeze “should be short term, I believe, because it has already been appropriated.” 

Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee wrote a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging him to reverse the Trump administration’s freeze on nearly all foreign aid programs and to reinstate the more than 50 civil servants placed on leave yesterday.

“We are deeply troubled by early steps the Trump Administration has taken to sideline, remove, or reassign many apolitical, career foreign service and civil service professionals at the Department without cause,” House Democrats said in the letter, arguing the civil servants placed on leave at the State Department have decades of critical experience and taxpayer investment that is lost without them. 

Rubio on Friday ordered an immediate halt to the flow of almost all U.S. foreign assistance pending a 90-day review of how the dollars are being allocated. Two days later, more than 50 career civil servants and foreign service officers at the U.S. Agency for International Development, an agency integral to the coordination of humanitarian aid, were placed on administrative leave. 

The House Democrats also voiced concern over the suspension of other State Department programs like the U.S. Refugee Assistance Program and the rollback of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility programs that have been in place across multiple administrations. They also pointed out what they called the “unlawful” anti-DEI prerequisite for receiving U.S. foreign assistance, a stipulation mandated by a Trump executive order that seeks to end DEI practices across all federal agencies. 

World Relief Chicagoland, an organization that provides services to refugees, received a stop-work order as part of an executive action from President Trump. WMAQ's JC Navarette reports.

New York Attorney General Letitia James wrote in an X post today that her office has sent guidance to law enforcement officials over the increased presence of immigration agents across New York City.

“I am monitoring the situation to ensure our laws are being respected and people’s rights are not being violated,” James wrote.

The guidance emphasizes certain rights for undocumented immigrants and federal, state and local laws that the city’s law enforcement agencies must adhere to. One example is that local law enforcement agencies in New York are “not ordinarily permitted to detain people at the request of federal civil immigration authorities alone without a judicial warrant.”

Early this morning, about a half-dozen enforcement agencies carried out immigration-related arrests in New York City.

Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., said freezing federal aid for school lunch programs would force kids to think about "actually getting a job."

"When you talk about school lunches, hey, I worked my way through high school," he said during an interview with CNN. "I don’t know about you, but I worked since I was before I was even 13 years old. I was picking berries in the field ... [before] that I was a paper boy, and when I was in high school, I worked my entire way through."

He added: "You’re telling me that kids who stay at home instead of going to work at Burger King, McDonald’s during the summer should stay home and get their free lunch instead of going to work? I think we need to have a top-down review."

New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that she will take legal action against the Trump administration for its halt to federal aid.

"My office will be taking imminent legal action against this administration’s unconstitutional pause on federal funding," she wrote. "We won’t sit idly by while this administration harms our families."

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong also said today that his office would be at the forefront of a multistate effort to sue the Trump administration over the pause in aid.

Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, called on Republicans in a news conference this morning not to advance the nomination for the Office of Management and Budget out of committee until the Trump administration reverses its freeze on federal aid.

"I am urging the Senate Budget Committee chair, Lindsey Graham, a fellow appropriator, to hold Russ Vought's nomination that was supposed to occur this Thursday," Murray said at a news conference with other top Democrats.

"Republicans should not advance that nomination out of committee until the Trump administration follows the law," she said. "The Trump administration must immediately reverse course, follow the requirements of that law and make sure that the nation's spending laws are implemented as Congress intended."

Sen. Angus King, the Maine independent, blasted the Trump White House this morning over its decision to freeze nearly all federal grants and loans, saying that it's "blatantly unconstitutional."

"This is a profound constitutional issue. What happened last night is the most direct assault on the authority of Congress, I believe, in the history of the United States," he said alongside Democratic senators at a news conference on Capitol Hill.

King said that Article II does not give the executive power to determine federal funding. "That power is vested in Article III in the Congress," he said. "And if this stands, then Congress may as well adjourn, because the implications of this is [the] executive can pick and choose which congressional enactments they will execute."

"I've never seen anything quite like this in American history," he said.

Bishop Angel Nunez, a senior pastor at the Bilingual Christian Church of Baltimore, says his congregation is fearful after 15 people were taken into custody during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid on their workplace. NBC News affiliate WBAL's Lisa Robinson reports.

Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, called Trump's freeze on federal aid "outrageous" and unconstitutional, in remarks on CNN.

"This is really outrageous, and this administration is really hurting hard working Americans," she said. "The actions are causing chaos. When you ask the agency what funding is safe, their response is, we don’t know, and if they don’t know, then nothing is safe."

DeLauro and her Senate counterpart wrote a letter expressing their “extreme alarm" about the freeze, which they said would undermine Congress’ "power of the purse, threaten our national security, and deny resources for states, localities, American families, and businesses."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a press conference this morning that Trump "plunged the country into chaos without a shred of warning" over the move to freeze all federal aid.

The move, ordered in a memo by the White House Office of Management and Budget, is "a dagger at the heart of the average American family in red states and blue states in cities in suburbs in rural areas," he said.

Schumer said that many Senate offices have been deluged with calls from people who are panicking over the action.

"This decision is lawless, dangerous, destructive, cruel," he said. "It’s illegal, it’s unconstitutional."

The New York Immigration Coalition characterized the New York City raids today as little more than a "publicity blitz" for the Department of Homeland Security.

“No matter how the Trump administration spins this enforcement, it is not about public safety — it is about instilling fear in our immigrant communities,” Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the advocacy group, said in a statement.

Awawdeh also said that despite "photos and videos of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem presiding over a multiagency targeted enforcement operation in the Bronx," his organization does not believe federal enforcement agencies have carried out a large-scale raid.

"At this time, it does not appear that mass raids have been conducted in New York City,” the statement said.

The power of Trump’s endorsement will face the first tests of his second term today in a pair of special primary elections in Florida. 

Both of Trump’s preferred candidates — Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis in the 1st Congressional District and state Sen. Randy Fine in the 6th District — appear to be in strong positions, trouncing their primary opponents in fundraising and garnering support from outside groups.

“Trump’s endorsement has loomed large in Florida Republican politics for most of a decade,” said Florida consultant Jamie Miller, a former executive director of the state GOP, noting Trump’s support was a crucial factor in propelling Ron DeSantis to victory in his 2018 primary.

Read the full story here.

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said today that attorneys general across the country are preparing to take legal action over Trump's federal aid freeze, calling it a "full assault on Connecticut families."

“This is a full assault on Connecticut families — an unprecedented and blatantly lawless and unconstitutional attack on every corner and level of our government and economy," he said in a statement. "Today is not a day for politics — everyone irrespective of party should be standing with Connecticut against this devastating attack on our state.”

He also said his state will be at the forefront of the legal action and will provide updates as it unfolds.

The Trump administration’s order to halt federal grant and loan disbursements is “reckless and illegal” and will result in “an immediate and profound negative impact on Americans all over the county,” Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner wrote in a joint statement. 

Kaine and Warner, both Democrats from Virginia, slammed the administration for the decision, which was issued last night and pauses the disbursal of all federal grants and loans while agencies review how they align with Trump's policy agenda, effective at 5 p.m. today.

“This is money that builds roads and bridges, helps small businesses make payroll, and makes our communities healthier, safer, and more economically competitive,” Kaine and Warner wrote in their statement. “In every corner of Virginia alone, there are enormous, game-changing economic developments projects happening right now that depend on federal spending appropriated by Congress.”

The senators argued recovery from natural disasters like Hurricane Helene and the continuation of infrastructure projects, including semiconductor manufacturing plants, could be put in jeopardy “thanks to President Trump’s mess.”

Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., announced in a video message this morning that he won't seek re-election next year.

"Our Founding Fathers envisioned members of Congress as citizens, serving their country for a few terms and then returning to private life. I agree," he said. "After three terms in the House and two terms in the Senate, I believe now it's time for me to write a few more paragraphs in my current chapter and then turn over the reins. I will therefore not seek re-election in 2026."

Peters said he plans to campaign to ensure a Democrat is elected to his Senate seat next year. He said while he'll be leaving Congress, he doesn't plan to retire.

"I look forward to writing many more chapters when my term ends. And I do not know what those chapters will be," he said, adding that he looks forward to riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle.

Peters served in the House from 2009 to 2015 and joined the Senate in 2015. He serves as ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

Read the full story here.

An advocacy group founded by former Vice President Mike Pence is ramping up its effort to defeat Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services with an ad that uses Trump’s past criticisms of Kennedy.

The 60-second ad — obtained by NBC News — from Advancing American Freedom consists almost entirely of footage from a May video in which Trump slams Kennedy, who was then running for president as an independent, as a “Democrat plant” and “radical left liberal.”

“Don’t think you’re going to vote for him and feel good,” Trump says in the ad. “I’d even take Biden over Jr. because our country would last about a year or two longer than it would with Jr. It would collapse almost immediately.”

The ad ends with a message that “President Trump was right the first time” and to “Vote NO on RFK Jr.”

The trial of former Sen. Bob Menendez's wife, Nadine Menendez, has been postponed again, according to a new order filed in court.

The trial was supposed to begin next week but has been delayed until March 18, the order says. The court said it received a letter last week from Nadine Menendez's physician that supports her motion to push back the trial.

She has been undergoing treatment for cancer, which prompted the judge in charge of her trial to delay it last summer. Nadine Menendez was charged in a federal bribery case in which her husband is a co-defendant.

The former senator is set to be sentenced in the case tomorrow after the Democrat was convicted on the federal corruption charges last July. Prosecutors have recommended a sentence of at least 15 years in prison.

The Trump administration is planning to conduct immigration raids in three major cities each week, three sources familiar with the plans said.

The multi-agency operations took off in recent days, including the arrests of hundreds of people in Chicago on Sunday. As agents began arrests early this morning in New York, three officials said agencies are planning for a third operation of the week in Aurora, Colorado, on Thursday. Next week, three more cities will be targeted.

One of the sources described the operations as “all hands on deck."

In a meeting with Immigration and Customs Enforcement senior leadership over the weekend, the agency's 25 field offices were told to enhance their “routine operations” by meeting a quota of between 1,200-1,500 arrests a day, the sources said. The quota was first reported by The Washington Post.

Read the full story here.

At least eight large public school districts across the United States have vowed in recent days to try to protect undocumented students and their families from Trump’s mass deportation push.

The Trump administration has removed restrictions that prevented Immigration and Customs Enforcement from conducting raids at so-called sensitive locations, including schools, as well as houses of worship and hospitals.

All children in the U.S., according to the Education Department, are entitled to a public education, regardless of their “immigration status,” allowing public school districts to largely avoid asking about or keeping records of their pupils’ standing with immigration laws.

Read the full story here.

Newly confirmed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem touted immigration arrests carried out by about a half-dozen enforcement agencies in New York City early this morning.

"Arresting some criminal aliens this morning in NYC — thank you to the brave officers involved," Noem said in a post on X.

The Drug Enforcement Administration also posted about the arrests, sharing photos of Noem, as well as its officers alongside other Justice Department agents and Homeland Security personnel detaining immigrants in New York.

The arrests in New York come after Immigration and Customs Enforcement made close to 1,200 arrests in a single day earlier this week, about half of whom did not have criminal records, a senior Trump administration official said.

Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., a fierce critic of Trump who served as a member of the House select committee that investigated the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, criticized Democrats in a post on X for a weak response to Trump's new actions.

"I’ll be honest, this week there was more to destroy the rule of law than in trumps first term," Kinzinger wrote. "And i have no idea what the Democrats are doing to fight back. Or even saying. Crickets."

Kinzinger supported and campaigned for former Vice President Kamala Harris for president against Trump.

Trump has ordered a freeze on almost all federal financial assistance, including for “foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI woke gender ideology, and the Green New Deal,” to go into effect at 5 p.m. today. Social Security and Medicare won’t be affected, according to a memo from the White House Office of Management and Budget. NBC’s Peter Alexander reports for "TODAY."

Less than 48 hours after Trump was inaugurated, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries held a closed-door meeting with Democratic lawmakers to issue a warning and a clarion call.

The new administration was going to “flood the zone,” and Democrats couldn’t afford to chase every single outrage — or nothing was going to sink in for the American people, Jeffries told them, according to a person in the room who requested anonymity to discuss the private meeting.

Jeffries, D-N.Y., urged members to focus their message on the cost of living, along with border security and community safety.

Read the full story here.

A memo sent out last night and seen by NBC News from Matthew J. Vaeth, acting director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, said the changes would go into effect today at 5 p.m. ET and relate to a string of executive orders Trump has signed since taking office last week.

“Federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal,” Vaeth said.

The memo said the pause would allow “time to review agency programs and determine the best uses of the funding for those programs consistent with the law and the President’s priorities.”

Read the full story here.