On Jan 28, the White House sought to clarify what would be affected by a directive to freeze federal financial assistance programs and suggested it would seek to strip federal funds from nongovernmental organizations, including Catholic Charities, in its effort to enforce its immigration policies.Â
The Catholic Charities USA urged the Trump administration to reconsider the freeze of the funds in a Jan 28 statement.Â
The same day, a judge temporarily blocked the freeze. According to a memo from that office, the White House budget office ordered a pause on all federal grants and loans, which could impact trillions of dollars in government spending and stop public programs that affect millions of Americans. Catholic entities that rely on such grants could be affected by these orders.
“This is not a blanket pause on federal assistance in grant programs from the Trump administration,” arguing “individual assistance” will not be impacted, listing “Social Security benefits, Medicare benefits, food stamps, welfare benefits” as examples.
The freeze’s scope confusion
“It is the responsibility of this president and this administration to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars,” arguing the directive was to combat “wokeness” running afoul of Trump’s other executive orders on topics including diversity, equity, and inclusion programs,” said Karoline Leavitt in her debut press briefing as White House press secretary on Jan 28.
However, questions remain about how the White House will define “assistance provided directly to individuals,” as indicated in the memo. Illinois and other states were cut off from the portal used to request and manage Medicaid spending, said the office of Illinois’s Democratic governor, J.B. Pritzker.
The White House has confirmed the outage, with Leavitt writing on social media that they are “aware of the Medicaid website portal outage” but said it would soon be available.
“We have confirmed no payments have been affected — they are still being processed and sent,” she said. “We expect the portal will be back online shortly.”
Leavitt was asked about the impact on organizations like Meals on Wheels, partly funded by the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) program, to deliver meals to homebound seniors rather than the grant funds going directly to the seniors themselves.
“It does not affect individual assistance going to Americans,” she replied.
Leavitt was asked if Trump “intended to permanently cut off funding to NGOs that are bringing illegal foreign nationals to the country, such as Catholic Charities also in the briefing.
“I am quite certain that the president signed an executive order that did just that,” she said.
Millions at risk: Catholic Charities respond
Kerry Alys Robinson, President and CEO of Catholic Charities USA, issued a statement that did not reference the exchange in the White House briefing room but defended her work.
“Last year, 92 per cent of the services provided by the 168 independent Catholic Charities agencies around the country covered basic needs — access to food, housing, health care and other necessities — for families and individuals struggling to get by,” Robinson said. “These vital services include food pantries for those who can’t afford groceries, childcare programs for low-income families, meal deliveries for homebound seniors, job training resources for veterans, temporary and permanent housing, mental health services and much more.”
She added that the millions of Americans “who rely on this life-giving support “will suffer due to the unprecedented effort to freeze federal aid supporting these programs.
“The people who will lose access to crucial care are our neighbours and family members,” said Robinson. “They live in every corner of the country and represent all races, religions and political affiliations.”
“For more than a century, the Catholic Charities network has worked with the government to care for poor and vulnerable people in every community in the U.S., and we continue to be eager to work with the government to care for our neighbors in need. We strongly urge the administration to rethink this decision,” she continued.
The supporters of the group were also urged to contact their congressional representatives. Like Catholic Charities, Jimmy Carter’s Advocacy for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles has worked alongside federal agencies, local governments, and private donors to sustain its mission. The disruption of funding could thwart these efforts, leaving vulnerable families with unstable housing options.
Trump’s immigration enforcement and executive order
In a Jan 26 statement, issued hours after Vice President JD Vance questioned the motives of the U.S. bishops’ criticism of President Donald Trump’s new immigration policies in an interview that aired that morning, the USCCB said that the Catholic Church has a long history of serving refugees.CCUSA and the USCCB have said they abide by the law in their work with migrants and refugees.
“In 1980, the bishops of the United States began partnering with the federal government to carry out this service when Congress created the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP),” the statement said. “Every person resettled through USRAP is vetted and approved for the program by the federal government while outside the United States.Â
Despite the White House’s reassurances, the far-reaching effects of the funding freeze are still uncertain. Catholic Charities and other non-profit organizations continue to seek clarity and urge the administration to reverse the decision.