The White House remains committed to freezing federal grants and loans aimed at ‘woke’ programs, Fox News has learned, despite the administration’s move to rescind the original Office of Management and Budget memo — effectively ending the legal battle and any ‘confusion’ for recipients. 

A federal judge on Tuesday paused the Trump administration’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memo, which aimed to freeze funding to various federal programs.

On Wednesday, the Trump administration rescinded the original memo. 

‘In light of the injunction, OMB has rescinded the memo to end any confusion on federal policy created by the court ruling and the dishonest media coverage,’ White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Wednesday. ‘The Executive Orders issued by the President on funding reviews remain in full force and effect and will be rigorously implemented by all agencies and departments.’ 

Leavitt told Fox News that rescinding the memo ‘should effectively end the court case and allow the government to focus on enforcing the President’s orders on controlling federal spending.’ 

‘In the coming weeks and months, more executive action will continue to end the egregious waste of federal funding,’ Leavitt said. 

The memo, sent to federal agencies on Monday, issued a pause on all federal grants and loans aiming to eradicate ‘wokeness’ and the ‘weaponization of government’ to improve government efficiency. 

‘Federal agencies must temporarily 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,’ the memo, obtained by Fox Digital, reads. 

The pause was set to take effect at 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday.

Democrats had criticized the Trump administration’s freeze of federal funds, arguing that President Trump is circumventing Congress and withholding congressionally appropriated funds, violating the Impoundment Control Act. 

U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan for the District of Columbia, appointed by former President Joe Biden, imposed an administrative stay on Tuesday afternoon, pausing the Trump administration’s action.

The administrative stay pauses the freeze until Monday.

The White House stressed that despite the memo being rescinded, if money coming out of federal agencies is at odds with the president’s executive orders, for example, funding for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs, those funds will still be frozen. 

But programs including Social Security benefits, Medicare, food stamps, welfare benefits and other assistance going directly to individuals will not be impacted under the pause, according to Leavitt. 

Leavitt, during the White House press briefing on Tuesday, described the pause as ‘temporary,’ and noted that the Trump administration has executed other freezes throughout the government, including a regulatory and hiring pause. 

‘It’s incumbent upon this administration to make sure, again, that every penny is being accounted for honestly,’ Leavitt said. 

Additionally, Leavitt said that Trump’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency that aims to eliminate government spending and waste identified $37 million that was about to go to the World Health Organization, along with $50 million to ‘fund condoms in Gaza.’ 

‘That is a preposterous waste of money,’ Leavitt said. 

It didn’t take long for the confirmation hearing of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to turn contentious as Senate Democrats grilled him.

The verbal fireworks exploded minutes into the Senate Finance Committee hearing on Wednesday, the first of two straight days of congressional confirmation hearings for the controversial vaccine skeptic and environmental crusader who ran for the White House in 2024 before ending his bid and endorsing Trump.

Kennedy repeatedly insisted that he was not ‘anti-vaccine’ and slammed multiple Democrat senators for pushing a ‘dishonest’ narrative against him that he has ‘corrected’ on national television many times. Democrats on the committee pointed to a slew of past comments from the nominee in which he questioned or disparaged COVID shots and other vaccines.

‘The receipts show that Mr. Kennedy has embraced conspiracy theories, quacks, and charlatans, especially when it comes to the safety and efficacy of vaccines. He’s made it his life’s work to sow doubt and discourage parents from getting their kids life-saving vaccines,’ Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the panel, charged in his opening statement.

Moments later, as Kennedy delivered his own opening comments and said ‘news reports have claimed that I am anti-vaccine or anti-industry. I am neither. I am pro-safety,’ a protester shouted out ‘you lie.’

The heckler was led out of the hearing room by Capitol Police, as was a second protester minutes later.

And another protester was spotted in the audience holding a sign reading, ‘Vaccines Save Lives, Not RFK JR.’ 

Democrats on the committee repeatedly pointed to Kennedy’s controversial vaccine views, including his repeated claims in recent years linking vaccines to autism, which have been debunked by scientific research.

They also spotlighted Kennedy’s service for years as chair or chief legal counsel for Children’s Health Defense, the nonprofit organization he founded that has advocated against vaccines and sued the federal government numerous times, including a challenge over the authorization of the COVID vaccine for children.

In his opening statement, which Fox News exclusively obtained ahead of the hearing, Kennedy spotlighted that ‘I believe vaccines play a critical role in healthcare. All of my kids are vaccinated. I’ve written books about vaccines. My first book in 2014, the first line of it is ‘I am not anti-vaccine’ and last line is ‘I am not anti-vaccine.’’

But he quickly faced a grilling from Democrats.

Wyden led off his questioning of Kennedy, the scion of the nation’s most storied political dynasty, by spotlighting a scathing letter from the nominee’s well-known cousin, Caroline Kennedy, which accused him of being a ‘predator’ and urged lawmakers to reject the nomination.

The senator also pointed to past Kennedy vaccine comments in podcasts, including one from 2020 when he said he ‘pay anything’ to be able to go back in time and not vaccinate his kids.

‘Are you lying to Congress today when you say you are pro-vaccine? Or did you lie on all those podcasts?’ Wyden asked.

Pushing back in a very heated exchange, Kennedy claimed that statements he made on podcasts have ‘been repeatedly debunked.’

And he vowed that he would do nothing to prevent Americans from obtaining certain vaccines.

‘I support the measles vaccine. I support the polio vaccine. I will do nothing as HHS Secretary that makes it difficult or discourages people from taking anything,’ Kennedy emphasized.

The next Democrat to question Kennedy, Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, accused him of peddling half-truths, peddling false statements.’

Benett grew heated as he asked Kennedy about other past comments, asking, ‘Did you say Lyme disease is a highly likely militarily engineered bioweapon?’

‘I probably did say that,’ Kennedy answered.

And Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, who has known Kennedy for decades – dating back to their days as law school students at the University of Virginia, told his friend ‘frankly, you frighten people.’

If confirmed, Kennedy would have control over 18 powerful federal agencies overseeing the nation’s food and health, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The 71-year-old Kennedy launched a long-shot campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination against President Joe Biden in April 2023. But six months later, he switched to an independent run for the White House.

Kennedy made major headlines again last August when he dropped his presidential bid and endorsed Trump. While Kennedy had long identified as a Democrat and repeatedly invoked his late father, former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and his late uncle, former President John F. Kennedy – who were both assassinated in the 1960s – Kennedy in recent years built relationships with far-right leaders due in part to his high-profile vaccine skepticism.

Trump announced soon after the November election that he would nominate Kennedy to his Cabinet to run HHS.

In the two months since Trump’s announcement, it’s not just Democrats who’ve raised questions about Kennedy’s confirmation. Social conservative Republicans took issue with his past comments in support of abortion rights.

‘My belief is we should leave it to the woman. We shouldn’t have the government involved, even if it’s full term,’ Kennedy said as he ran for president. 

But since endorsing Trump, Kennedy has walked back his stance on abortion. And in an exchange Wednesday with Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Kennedy declared ‘I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy.’

Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a former two-time Democratic presidential candidate, argued that Kennedy made a ‘major U-turn’ on abortion.

Kennedy was also questioned about how he would reform Medicare and Medicaid, the massive government health care programs used by millions of older, disabled, and low-income Americans.

‘I don’t have a broad proposal for dismantling the program,’ Kennedy said of Medicaid.

And he said that President Trump hadn’t asked him to cut the program but rather ‘asked me to make it better.’

Kennedy, whose outspoken views on big pharma and the food industry have also sparked controversy, vowed that ‘if confirmed, I will do everything in my power to put the health of Americans back on track.’

While Democrats may find common ground with Kennedy’s aim to shift the focus of the agencies he would oversee toward promotion of a healthy lifestyle – including overhauling dietary guidelines and take aim at ultra-processed foods – and getting to the root causes of chronic diseases, Kennedy lamented that they oppose him because he’s Trump’s nominee.

Now they’re against me because anything that President Trump does, any decision he makes, has to be lampooned, derided, discredited, marginalized, vilified,’ Kennedy argued.

With Republicans controlling the Senate by a 53-47 majority, Kennedy can only afford to lose the support of three GOP senators if Democrats unite against his confirmation. During Wednesday’s hearing, no Republicans appeared to oppose the nomination.

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina appeared to lean into the Democrats’ attacks on Kennedy, asking ‘I got a real quick question for you: Are you a conspiracy theorist?’ 

Kennedy answered that it ‘is a pejorative that’s applied to me mainly to keep me from asking difficult questions of powerful interests.’

GOP Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, a chemical engineer, spotlighted that there are several Republican doctors on the committee.

‘We believe in science. I’m thankful that you do, too,’ Daines said.

Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a physician who said he had a ‘frank conversation’ with Kennedy about immunizations when they met earlier this month, didn’t ask about vaccines during the committee hearing. Instead, he kept his questions to federal healthcare programs, including Medicare.

Meanwhile, GOP Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin took aim at Democrats on the committee for what he claimed was ‘hostility on the other side… I’m disappointed with it.’

The hearing ended three and a half hours after it began, with Kennedy departing the committee room to cheers from supporters.

The Senate will vote Wednesday on whether to confirm former Rep. Lee Zeldin to head the government’s leading agency on environmental rules and regulations.

President Donald Trump tapped Zeldin, who previously served as a congressman from New York’s 1st Congressional District from 2015 to 2023, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under his administration. During his tenure in Congress, Zeldin, an Army Reserve lieutenant colonel, launched a campaign for governor in New York, when he trailed only five percentage points in the largely Democratic state.

Zeldin underwent a confirmation hearing earlier this month, when he was questioned on climate change by members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

The Senate held a cloture vote for Zeldin on Wednesday afternoon, which ended the debate over his nomination. The chamber will now proceed to a final floor vote. 

If confirmed on Wednesday, Zeldin will head the agency that surveys environmental issues, provides assistance to wide-ranging environmental projects, and establishes rules that align with the administration’s views on environmental protection and climate change. 

During his confirmation hearing, Zeldin pledged that if confirmed, he would ‘foster a collaborative culture within the agency, supporting career staff who have dedicated themselves to this mission. I strongly believe we have a moral responsibility to be good stewards of our environment for generations to come.’

The latest round of voting comes as Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., continues to advance the confirmation process to push through Trump’s Cabinet nominees.

President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Commerce Department, Howard Lutnick, told senators the argument that tariffs cause inflation is ‘nonsense’ during a confirmation hearing on Wednesday.

‘The two top countries with tariffs, India and China, do have the most tariffs and no inflation,’ Lutnick noted. 

‘A particular product’s price may go up,’ he conceded, while arguing that levies would not cause broad inflation. ‘It is just nonsense to say that tariffs cause inflation. It’s nonsense.’ 

Lutnick testified before members of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee ahead of an impending committee and full Senate floor vote to confirm him to the Cabinet position. 

Inflation, which ticked as high as 9.1% in June 2022 under the Biden administration, became a defining issue in the 2024 election as Trump promised to bring household prices back down. 

Lutnick also said he prefers ‘across-the-board’ tariffs on a ‘country-by-country’ basis, rather than ones aimed at particular sectors or products. 

‘I think when you pick one product in Mexico, they’ll pick one product. You know, we pick avocados, they pick white corn, we pick tomatoes, they pick yellow corn. All you’re doing is picking on farmers.’

‘Let America make it more fair. We are treated horribly by the global trading environment. They all have higher tariffs, non-tariff trade barriers and subsidies. They treat us poorly. We need to be treated better,’ Lutnick went on. ‘We can use tariffs to create reciprocity.’

He said Trump, a longtime friend, was of a ‘like mind’ that tariffs need to be simple. ‘The steel and aluminum had 560,000 applications for exclusions,’ said Lutnick. ‘It just seems that’s too many.’ 

Trump recently signed an executive order directing the Commerce Department and the Office of the US Trade Representative to conduct a review of U.S. trade policy and tariff models, with a focus on China. Trump has said he intends to impose a 25% tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico on Feb. 1 amid concerns of mass migration and drug trafficking. He also said he would increase tariffs on China by 10%. 

Lutnick also sounded off about Europe treating the U.S. industry unfairly. 

I think our farmers and ranchers and fishermen are treated with disrespect overseas,’ he said.

‘Europe, for example, comes up with all these sort of policies, that our ranchers can’t sell steak. If you saw European steer and an American steer, it’s laughable. The American steers are three times this size. The steaks are so much more beautiful.

‘But they make up this nonsensical set of rules so that our ranchers can’t sell there.’ 

Lutnick said Chinese tariffs ‘should be the highest.’ 

‘But the fact that we Americans cannot sell an American car in Europe is just wrong. And it needs to be fixed,’ he said,

‘While they’re an ally, they are taking advantage of us and disrespecting us. And I would like that to end.’ 

His comments echoed those of Trump last week. 

‘The European Union is very, very bad to us,’ he said. ‘So they’re going to be in for tariffs. It’s the only way… you’re going to get fairness.’

The governments of Mexico, Canada and nations in Europe have prepared a list of their own U.S. imports that will face tariffs in a tit-for-tat trade war if Trump follows through on taxing their own goods as they’re brought into the U.S. 

Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, said Monday that European nations should unite to use their collective economic force against the U.S. if needed. 

‘As the United States shifts to a more transactional approach, Europe needs to close ranks,’ she said at a news conference in Brussels. ‘Europe is an economic heavyweight and geopolitical partner.’

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., was blasted by conservatives on social media on Wednesday over his contentious line of questioning toward President Donald Trump’s Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary nominee, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

‘Frankly, you frighten people,’ Whitehouse told Kennedy while seemingly linking Kennedy’s skepticism of some vaccines to the first case of measles in Rhode Island since 2013. 

Americans are going to need to hear a clear and trustworthy recantation of what you have said on vaccinations, including a promise from you never to say vaccines aren’t medically safe when they, in fact, are, and making indisputably clear that you support mandatory vaccinations against diseases where that will keep people safe,’ Whitehouse said. ‘You’re in that hole pretty deep.’

Whitehouse, who attended law school with Kennedy where the two were friends, used the majority of his time to list concerns about Kennedy, allowing the HHS hopeful a small window at the end to address the line of questioning.

Whitehouse’s comments quickly drew criticism from conservatives on social media. 

‘Sen. Whitehouse (D-RI) beginning his confirmation ‘questioning’ of RFK Jr. by saying ‘I’m very experienced, so you’re just going to have to listen,’  then talking for 7 minutes nonstop is such a perfect picture of why Democrats are failing around the nation right now,’ Daily Signal columnist Tony Kinnett posted on X. 

‘You know what would be good?’ columnist John Podhortez posted on X. ‘Sheldon Whitehouse going away forever to an island. And not Rhode Island, which isn’t an island. More like St. Helena.’

‘Whitehouse delivers a droning monologue then tells RFK he’s out of time, can respond in writing,’ National Review senior writer Dan McLaughlin posted on X. 

‘What a jacka–,’ Twitchy.com editor Samantha Janney posted on X. ‘RFK Jr. should ask Sheldon about his membership at multiple whites-only clubs.’

Fox News Digital reached out to Whitehouse’s office for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Opposition to Kennedy’s nomination has been fierce, with advocacy groups running ad campaigns urging senators to vote against his confirmation mainly due to his past skepticism of some vaccines. 

‘I want to make sure the Committee is clear about a few things. News reports have claimed that I am anti-vaccine or anti-industry. Well, I am neither; I am pro-safety,’ Kennedy said in his opening statement in front of the Senate Finance Committee.