Leaders of Clark County governments and nonprofits remain uneasy even though the White House on Wednesday rescinded an order freezing all federal grants and loans. The order would have undercut local projects and programs — from homeless services to the Interstate 5 Bridge replacement.
Amid Tuesday’s confusion about a vague memo from the federal Office of Management and Budget, Clark County agencies dove into fine print to understand which services and programs might be impacted.
Just before the freeze was supposed to go into effect at 2 p.m. PST Tuesday, a federal district judge temporarily blocked it.
The freeze could have resulted in major setbacks across Clark County by delaying infrastructure projects, halting loans for small businesses and forcing cuts to homeless services.
The offices of Washington Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, both Democrats, contacted Vancouver-based Council for the Homeless to understand how the freeze would affect Clark County homeless services.
The nonprofit is grateful for the federal funding it receives, Council for the Homeless spokeswoman Nneka Coxeff said.
“Unfortunately, confusing and chaotic pronouncements from a key funder create distraction, pulling us away from fulfilling our obligations to the people we serve and from the community as a whole,” Coxeff said today.
Despite the order’s withdrawal, Clark County organizations might not be out of the woods. Staff are closely watching for any updates out of the White House.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement today that more executive action will continue “to end the egregious waste of federal funding” in the coming weeks and months.
On X, Leavitt said the White House is not rescinding the federal funding freeze, just the memo ordering the freeze due to “any confusion created by the court’s injunction.”
Aaron Lande, the city of Vancouver’s program and policy development manager, said city staff began reviewing all current and pending federal grants that could have been impacted by the freeze.
Despite the rescission, Vancouver staff are continuing their review today and discussing how the city’s ability to administer programs and projects might be impacted if the White House reinstates the freeze order.
Clark County spokeswoman Joni McAnally said county departments will continue to pivot their work to ensure compliance while analyzing any impacts to services.
“The actions taken by our new federal administration are happening very quickly, with little or no notice,” McAnally said.
Murray, who raised alarm bells about possible funding cuts to projects including the I-5 Bridge replacement, said in a statement today that the Trump administration “caused real harm and chaos for millions over the span of the last 48 hours.”
“This is an important victory for the American people whose voices were heard after massive pressure from every corner of this country — real people made a difference by speaking out,” Murray said.