A Federal Funding Pause Sent Shockwaves Through Higher Ed. Here’s What We Know.

The Trump administration left heads spinning across higher education and elsewhere after ordering a temporary pause on all federal financial assistance, including billions of dollars in grants and loans to colleges, late Monday. The goal of the pause, according to a memo from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, is to “provide the administration time to review agency programs and determine the best uses of the funding for those programs,” and consider whether such programs align with Trump’s policy agenda. Per the memo, the pause will last until at least February 10 and is aimed at rooting out diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, among other progressive policies.