Fresh out of Barnard College with a degree in political science, Riley is learning the ropes as a writer and reporter for GZERO. When she isn’t writing about global politics, you can find her making GZERO’s crossword puzzles, conducting research on American politics, or persisting in her lifelong quest to learn French. Riley spends her time outside of work grilling, dancing, and wearing many hats (both literally and figuratively).
Why is this happening? The Trump administration wants the government to stop funding prior administrations’ programs – which the memo accuses of advancing “Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering” – so that it can harness those resources for its own priorities and executive orders. It calls for agencies to complete a “comprehensive analysis” to align their programs with Donald Trump’s recent executive orders on energy, immigration, and DEI. It also calls for a Trump administration official to be appointed to ensure federal funding “conforms to Administration priorities.”
The directive’s scope appears sweeping, potentially affecting nearly all federal agencies, with a temporary pause in place until they submit program information by Feb. 10. Meanwhile, a vast network of federal funding recipients – including those relying on disaster relief, education grants, transportation funding, NGO support, and foreign aid – face uncertainty about maintaining their operations during the freeze.