Serving Nonprofits. Strengthening West Virginia.

Updates & FAQs – Executive Actions Impacting Nonprofits

Page updated as of April 16, 2025 @ 9:00 am

Timeline

April 15: Judge McElroy issued a preliminary injuction preventing the Trump administration from freezing, halting, or broadly pausing payments for funding awarded under the Inflactin Reduction Act or the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. (This is in reference to the second suit filed by the National Council of Nonprofits filed on March 13th.)

March 13: The National Council of Nonprofits filed a second suit against the current administration to address funds being held up by the Department of Agriculture, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, and the Office of Management and Budget.

March 6: Judge McConnell issued a preliminary injunction ordering the Trump administration to reinstate funding for essential government services for a range of programs including, but not limited to, public safety, environmental safety, child welfare, energy development, healthcare, and emergency management services. “Attorney General Raúl Torrez and Multistate Coalition Secure Court Order Blocking Trump Administration from Freezing Federal Funds”

March 4: The National Council of Nonprofits filed a motion requesting clarification from the court on what is deemed an “open” grant or contract. OMB has interpreted “open awards” to mean open awards that have been partially disbursed. The court has set a quick filing schedule which could lead to clarification sometime next week.

February 25:  Judge Alikhan granted a Preliminary Injunction. The ruling states that OMB is prohibited from implementing, giving effect to, or reinstating under a different name the unilateral freeze of all new federal spending, attempted under OMB’s funding freeze directive. OMB must instruct all federal agencies of the preliminary injunction. “Judge Issues National Injunction to Block Trump Administration’s Devastating Attempt to Halt Funding For Essential Services“

February 20: hearing in U.S. District Court on the coalitions motion for a Preliminary Injunction.

February 12:  ​Federal administration files opposition to motion for Preliminary Injunction.February 11: the National Council and coalition represented by Democracy Forward file for Preliminary Injunction to keep the administration from implementing a blanket federal funding freeze.

February 11: the National Council and coalition represented by Democracy Forward file for Preliminary Injunction to keep the administration from implementing a blanket federal funding freeze.

February 3: the National Council and coalition represented by Democracy Forward were back in court. Judge Alikhan issued another Temporary Restraining Order, concluding in the Memorandum of Opinion and Order:

  • “that Defendants [Office of Management and Budget] are enjoined from implementing, giving effect to, or reinstating under a different name the directives in OMB Memorandum M-25-13 with respect to the disbursement of Federal funds under all open awards;” and
  • “that the parties shall meet and confer and file a joint status report proposing a preliminary injunction briefing schedule on or before February 7, 2025.”

January 31: Chief Judge John McConnell, Jr., U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island issued a Temporary Restraining Order.  The restraining order is to remain in place until “further Order of this Court.” Judge McConnell, Jr. stated in the court order: “Defendants shall also be restrained and prohibited from reissuing,  adopting, implementing, or otherwise giving effect to the OMB Directive under any other name or title or through any other Defendants (or agency supervised, administered, or controlled by any Defendant), such as the continued implementation identified by the White House Press Secretary’s statement of January 29, 2025.”

January 29: 22 state Attorneys General, including NM Attorney General Raul Torrez filed for a Temporary Restraining Order of the federal funding pause.

January 29: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on social media: “This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze. It is simply a rescission of the OMB memo.”

January 29: Acting Director Vaeth released another OMB Memo M-25-14 rescinding the previous OMB Memo M-25-13.

January 28: U.S. District Judge Alikhan blocked the action until Monday, February 3 at 5:00 pm.

January 28: the National Council of Nonprofits in Coalition with the American Public Health Association, Main Street Alliance, and SAGE represented by Democracy Forward filed a Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

January 27: Acting Director Vaeth released OMB Memo M-25-13 ordering a Temporary Pause of Agency, Grant, Loan, and Other Financial Assistance Programs. The pause was due to go into effect on January 28 at 5:00 pm. However, many payment portals were turned off on January 27 or early on January 28.

Resources

Additional Important Links:

Reach out to your representatives:

  • Senator Shelley Moore Captito: 202-224-6472, form to contact
  • Senator Jim Justice: 202-224-2954, scroll to the bottom to find a form to contact
  • Congresswoman Carol Miller: 202-224-3452, other ways to contact
  • Congressman Riley Moore: 202-225-2711, other ways to contact
  • Governor Patrick Morrisey: 304-558-2000

The federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) sent a memo to federal agencies on the evening of January 27 ordering them to pause most of their grants and loans – including billions of dollars in grants to nonprofits – at 5 p.m. on January 28. The memo requires all federal agencies to pause issuing new grant awards, disbursement of funds under existing grants, and other relevant agency actions related to their grant programs. It also requires agencies to review their grant programs and report to OMB by February 10 on grants that are inconsistent with President Trump’s Executive Orders.

Thanks to a lawsuit led by the National Council of Nonprofits and other advocacy organizations, a federal judge issued an administrative stay minutes before the memo was set to take effect delaying the implementation of parts of the memo until at least Monday, February 3 at 5 p.m.

Here are answers to questions nonprofits have been asking:

Which federal funding streams are affected? Potentially, the pause applies to all (or at least most) federal grants to nonprofits and to state and local governments. The memo directs agencies to “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.” Because several of these terms are not clearly defined, it is possible that some or all federal agencies may interpret the memo to require a pause in virtually all of their grants to nonprofits. The memo does not apply to federal aid to individuals, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Pell grants, and rental assistance, so these payments should continue after 5 p.m. today. OMB has the authority to grant exceptions to allow agencies to grant new awards or make payments on a case-by-case basis.

How long will the pause be in effect? The memo is unclear on how long the pause in grants will be in effect.

Could this lead to the cancellation of existing grants? Potentially, yes.

Is there anything nonprofits with federal grants can do before the pause takes effect? The pause on grants doesn’t take effect until 5 p.m. on Monday, February 3. Some federal agencies may be willing to make advance payments to nonprofits before that time. If your nonprofit has a federal grant and is expecting a disbursement in the next few weeks, you may want to reach out to your grant administrator to find out whether you may be able to get your next disbursement before 5 p.m. on Monday, February 3.

Will this be challenged in court? It already has! The National Council of Nonprofits (NCN), along with small business and public health advocates, filed a lawsuit on January 28 asking the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to stop the implementation of the OMB memo. The lawsuit alleges that OMB’s memo is not allowed under the Administrative Procedures Act because it is: (a) arbitrary and capricious; (b) in violation of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution; and (c) beyond OMB’s statutory authority. The NCN lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction that would immediately stop the implementation of the memo, along with a permanent injunction that would invalidate the memo. Shortly before the pause was set to take effect on January 28, the court issued an administrative stay delaying the implementation of parts of the memo until Monday, February 3 at 5 p.m. As the court explained in its ruling, “[a]n administrative stay ‘buys the court time to deliberate’ when issues are not ‘easy to evaluate in haste.'” The administrative stay ensures that federal agencies may continue to make disbursements to existing grantees through Monday, but it does not allow for the awarding of new grants. The parties to the lawsuit will submit additional briefs to the court this week so that the court can make a ruling on the merits of the case on Monday to determine whether to issue a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order that would stop the implementation of the grants pause beyond Monday.  It is likely that some state and local governments will file similar actions in federal court.

How can my nonprofit share the impact of the grants pause on our organization? To help understand the impact of the pause on federal grants, the WVNPA is asking nonprofits with federal funding to respond to this quick survey. Your responses will help the WVNPA best advocate for solutions to provide for continuity of federal funding.

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