Late Monday evening, President Donald Trump announced he is pausing federal loans and grants.
Panic ensued as organizations and people who rely on federal funding scrambled to understand what the order meant for them — including some of the estimated 9.9 million students who rely on federal financial aid to attend college each year.
Lawmakers, advocacy organizations and students themselves were all quick to point out that this may mean a pause on the disbursement of federal student loans, Pell Grants and other forms of government-funded student aid.
While the initial memo said individual aid won’t be impacted, some types of federal student aid are first disbursed to colleges themselves, rather than directly to students, leaving many confused.
However, the White House later clarified Trump’s memo and explained what it actually means for students on federal financial aid.
Here’s what we know about how your student aid could be impacted:
Will my federal direct loans or Pell Grant be impacted by Trump’s pause?
No. The White House released a Q&A memo on Tuesday afternoon clarifying the order will not impact federal student loans.
“Is this a freeze on benefits to Americans like SNAP or student loans?” the document reads.
“No,” it continues, “any program that provides direct benefits to Americans is explicitly excluded from the pause.” The Q&A document also clarifies Pell Grants “will not be paused.”
The funding pause “only applies” to discretionary grants, which are awarded through competitive processes, Department of Education spokesperson Madi Biedermann told The Independent.
“The temporary pause does not impact Title I, IDEA, or other formula grants, nor does it apply to Federal Pell Grants and Direct Loans under Title IV [of the Higher Education Act],” Biedermann said. “The Department is working with OMB to identify other programs that are not covered by the memo.”
Title IV of the Higher Education Act encompasses most federal aid programs, such as the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program; the Federal Pell Grant Program; the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Program; the TEACH Grant Program; the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant Program; and the Federal Work-Study Program.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified anyone receiving individual benefits will not be impacted, as the memo stated. This includes Medicare and Social Security, which were also explicitly excluded in the original memo.
“To individuals at home who receive direct assistance from the federal government: you will not be impacted by this federal freeze,” she said Tuesday from the White House briefing room.
Who will be impacted by the pause?
The initial memo states that “financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology and the Green New Deal” will be paused.
Beyond that, there appears to be no complete list of organizations that will be impacted.
“Financial assistance should be dedicated to advancing Administration priorities, focusing taxpayer dollars to advance a stronger and safer America, eliminating the financial burden of inflation for citizens, unleashing American energy and manufacturing, ending ‘wokeness’ and the weaponization of government, promoting efficiency in government, and Making America Healthy Again,” the memo reads.
Democratic lawmakers have voiced their concern.
“They say this is only temporary, but no one should believe that,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. “Donald Trump must direct his Administration to reverse course immediately and the taxpayers’ money should be distributed to the people. Congress approved these investments and they are not optional; they are the law.”
The memo will likely face legal challenges, The Washington Post reports.