A federal judge in Washington D.C. temporarily blocked a freeze the Trump administration had planned to enforce Tuesday on federal grants and loans, the Associated Press reported just after 2 p.m. Tuesday.
Oregon is joining a slate of other Democrat-led states suing the federal government over the move.
State and local governments, who often make use of federal dollars to tackle major projects or run existing programs, were left uncertain Tuesday what programs were and were not affected by the memo.
What comes next is uncertain; the move, the White House said, was necessary to review federal funding to ensure it complied with the Trump administration’s priorities.
“This memorandum requires Federal agencies to identify and review all Federal financial assistance programs and supporting activities consistent with the President’s policies and requirements,” the memo read in part.
Local impact
The news left local officials uncertain where they stood, while some did not believe the move would have an immediate impact on their agencies.
Banks School District
“While the majority of the Banks School District funds are from state and local sources, each year we do receive significant financial resources from Federal grants such as IDEA, Title 1, and Title 2,” Banks School District Superintendent Brian Sica said in a statement to the Banks Post. “These resources are used to provide Special Education services, support students that are navigating poverty, and support teachers’ professional growth and development. In addition, we are regularly seeking out one time Federal grants to fund unique challenges such as students safety and facilities needs,” he added.
Sica said the district was currently working “with our legislative partners” to understand the impacts of the memo, a statement he made before a judge temporarily lifted the freeze.
According to Chalkbeat, a nonprofit newsroom that focuses on school issues, the White House later clarified that the order wasn’t intended to affect programs like Title 1 funding or Head Start preschool programs.
Banks Fire District
“We are not experiencing any disruption in our grants at this time nor do we expect any long term,” Banks Fire District Public Information Officer Scott Adams said in a message to the Banks Post.
“We at Banks Fire work hard to continually obtain as many grants and outside funding sources as we can so as to supplement the funding we receive from our taxpayers,” he added. “We have in past years received grant funding for many different projects and we have some grants and grant applications outstanding,” he said.
Adams noted that grants received by the district could take many years to receive from the initial application to funds being issued.
“Of course no one holds a crystal ball to see the future but we have a great relationship with our grant administrators and reviewers at all levels and we will be kept up to date with whatever the ultimate processes turn out to be,” he said.
District programs such as a recent CERT class are federal grant-funded programs. In that case, the CERT class funding is fully paid for and not impacted by the memo, should it move forward.
City of Banks
“At this time, I do not see any impact on any current or planned city activities,” Banks City Manager Jolynn Becker said in an email to the Banks Post.
Washington County
“We are working to analyze the situation,” Assistant Communications Officer Julie McCloud said in an email to the Banks Post.
Salmonberry Trail
According to Salmonberry Trail Foundation Executive Director Caroline Fitchett, work to secure funding for a portion of the trail in Washington County known as the Catalyst Loop was not yet complete, and to their understanding, was not affected by the memo. The group is hoping to secure $250,000 in funding through Congress sometime this spring.
This is a developing story. It will be updated as more information becomes available.

Chas Hundley is the editor of the Banks Post and sister news publications the Gales Creek Journal and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.