When I first heard about the now infamous memo issued by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that froze federal spending, I was among the millions of Americans who felt a sense of deep dread.
The memo, dated January 27, ordered a federal funding pause to begin the next day, and specifically targeted programs “including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal,” giving the administration “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.”
My fear was that this would cut off the services of my pit crew—the people I have hired to come to my home to help me do the things I can’t do without assistance due to my disability, such as getting in and out of bed and getting dressed. My pit crew’s wages are paid via a state program primarily funded by Medicaid. If federal Medicaid funds were frozen, would my pit crew members still be able to get paid? If not, how would I get out of bed?
This is the kind of deep, widespread, and immediate pain that a sudden, stupid move like this memo can cause. But I don’t think the squatter currently occupying the White House or any of his sycophant goons give a damn about that. As a matter of fact, it seems clear to me that at least part of what the squatter is trying to do is cause as much pain as possible for those that he perceives to be in the way of accomplishing his political agenda.
Two days after the memo was published, a federal judge put a temporary halt on the funding freeze, accusing the squatter of attempting unconstitutional interference with federal funds approved by Congress. Later that day, it was reported that the OMB had issued a second memo rescinding the first one. I breathed a sigh of relief—until I saw what White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X: “This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze. It is simply a rescission of the OMB memo.”
Leavitt said the squatter’s executive orders on federal funding “remain in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented.”
No matter what happens next, this is probably not a permanent retreat but rather a pause to regroup. I have no doubt the squatter will attempt to eviscerate Medicaid again, most likely by trying to institute work requirements or converting allocations to block grants. When he tried to do those things the last time he squatted, he ran into a groundswell of public resistance, and failed spectacularly. Let’s hope there’s enough resistance for him to fail even more spectacularly this time around.