I’ve watched with interest but not surprise the overreaction of the national media and liberal Members of Congress who decry the “great damage” President Trump’s pause-and-review of some discretionary federal grants will supposedly cause.  Well, President Trump was overwhelmingly re-elected based upon his promise to implement the policies he is now rapidly implementing.  That certainly includes reviewing the enormous sums of hard-earned American taxpayer dollars that the federal government spends.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memo at issue simply requires federal agencies to pause grant funding that had not yet been disbursed so Trump Administration officials could review it.  In my view, it is not only perfectly legal and well within the authority of the Chief Executive to take this step, but I believe it’s also an obligation of a new presidential administration to review discretionary funding to see that it complies with both federal law and Trump policies.

Specifically, the memo requires that by Feb 10th the numerous federal agencies submit to OMB “detailed information of any programs, projects or activities” that don’t adhere to President Trump’s executive orders, including any policies regarding so-called Diversity, Inclusion and Equity (DIE), the Green New Deal and other similarly misguided policies.

As part of the wasteful and insane spending President Trump identified for cancellation are up to $102 million in funding for condoms in Gaza, which are suspected to be used, not for the typically intended use, but rather for balloon bombs deployed against Israeli troops, $180 million for diversity, inclusion and equity (DIE) training, $40 million to the World Health Organization (WHO)—which Trump has ordered the U.S to leave, the same WHO that conspired with China to hide the fact that the China Virus that that killed one million Americans came from the Wuhan Lab, according to the CIA.He also froze a whopping $1.8 billion in general foreign aid.

However, notwithstanding the limited and targeted nature of the directive, U.S. Senate Minority Leader, Chuck Schumer, warned that the effect would be apocalyptic and impact “disaster assistance, local law enforcement, rural hospitals, aid to the elderly, food for people in need.”  This is demonstrably false.   Again, these are discretionary funds. Most federal dollars fall under the category of “mandatory” spending and wouldn’t be impacted by the pause.

Nevertheless, the White House soon reiterated that the pause would not affect financial assistance to individuals such as food stamps, small business grants, aid to farmers or other entitlement programs such as Medicaid and children’s nutrition programs.  In addition, agencies are allowed to grant exceptions on a case-by-case basis.

Our nation is $36 trillion in debt.  Extrapolating from analysis of The Heritage Foundation “for the first time ever, the government spent over $140 billion in a single month to service its gargantuan debt of $36 trillion.  This will require by the end of this fiscal year the Treasury to spend almost $1.2 trillion in interest alone.  And the problem is getting worse.  For June, not a single line item in the Treasury’smonthly statement was larger than the $140 billion interest expense.  This national debt interest was larger than the Social Security Administration ($129 billion), Department of Health and Human Services ($90 billion), Department of Education ($87 billion) or Department of Defense ($63 billion).”  (The Heritage Foundation, EJ Antoni, July 19, 2024).

Again, merely servicing that debt load requires a greater expenditure each year than the money our nation spends on its defense, Social Security, and other federal spending.  This is merely servicing the debt; we are not paying any of the debt down.   If this continues, “by 2035 interest payments will suck up almost a quarter of federal revenues, and about two-thirds of every dollar borrowed will go to finance the debt.” (U.S. Rep Jodey Arrington (TX)).  This is obviously, massively, unsustainable.

Think of the critical national policy needs that could be met if the annual interest payments to service the national debt could be redirected and used for positive improvements in our country.  Imagine advances in health care and cancer research, infrastructure, national defense, as well as billions in additional capital available to small business entrepreneurs in the free market.

Regardless of how this directive ends up being implemented—and a federal judge has already granted a temporary stay of the memo’s effects—what President Trump has done with this spending pause-and-review is merely the first step on the long road back to fiscal sanity and economic growth.