The Trump administration’s stunning move to pause all federal loans and grants has roots in the conservative manifesto Project 2025, though the government-wide halt goes beyond what the project suggested.
Russ Vought, Trump’s pick to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), has not yet been confirmed, but his influence is clear in the agency already. Vought authored a chapter in Project 2025 about how the president could consolidate power and enforce his agenda to overcome career bureaucrats, including withholding funds to get compliance
