Chaos and confusion ensued Tuesday after the White House put a freeze on federal funding.
A judge temporarily blocked the move for now, but there are still a lot of questions about what comes next.
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WATCH HEREIt all started with a two-page memo released Monday night by the Office of Management and Budget.
It directed federal agencies to “temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all federal financial assistance" that could conflict with President Donald Trump's agenda.
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SIGN UP That left a lot of organizations scrambling to determine if they fell under that umbrella and how they’d be impacted.
“It was very similar to an incident like a tornado or something,” said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.
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In a press conference late Tuesday, Jenkins described an all-hands-on-deck scenario, saying multiple departments spent the day determining that a federal funding pause could threaten programs like Head Start, cut $275 million from Dallas Health and Human Services, and impact programs like freeway management, sewer, and courts.
"The funding pause had the potential and still does to cause irreparable harm in our community,” said Jenkins.
The White House said the pause was part of an across-the-board ideological review to uproot progressive initiatives, calling out spending by the Biden administration.
"It's a big reason we've had an inflation crisis in this country, and it's incumbent on this administration that every penny is being accounted for honestly,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
In addition to defending the move, the White House attempted to clarify, narrowing the scope of the programs impacted and providing hope to organizations like Meals on Wheels of Tarrant County.
The nonprofit gets 37 percent of its funding to feed homebound seniors from federal grants.
“In that memo, it states that any organization that provides direct services to individuals is exempt from the funding pause. So, there's still a lot of confusion about the executive order. A number of our elected officials, again, statewide on a national level, are still uncertain as to the exact meaning,” said Vice President of Marketing Keith Harrison.
Late in the day, a federal judge provided more relief, temporarily blocking the order through next Monday.
Still, local nonprofits like Southern Dallas Innovation Hub, which teaches machine learning and data science to middle school students, say a lot is on the line.
"Without us being there, the African American community would be… because we're the only ones teaching. We're the only ones preparing them,” said CEO Mark McDaniel.
The OMB also sent a spreadsheet to agencies asking questions about programs, including whether they provide funding for DEI programs, promote gender ideology, or promote or support abortion.
Those are due next Friday, which is five days after the judge’s stay is set to end.
