Gov. Arnold I. Palacios speaks during a press conference on Thursday at the administration building on Capital Hill.
THE federally funded Medicaid and Nutrition Assistance Program for the CNMI “are not impacted” by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget’s memorandum on the temporary pause of agency grants in response to a presidential executive order, Gov. Arnold I. Palacios said on Thursday.
On Monday, Acting OMB Director Matthew J. Vaeth issued a memorandum, saying that federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all federal assistance to provide the Trump administration with time to review agency programs and determine the best uses of funding for those programs consistent with the law and the President’s priorities.
During a press conference on Thursday, the governor said his administration is concerned about the federally funded programs that are “really critical” for members of the CNMI community, such as Medicaid assistance administered by the CNMI Medicaid Office and the Nutrition Assistance Program implemented by the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs.
“I’m glad the very next day, it was clarified that those are not going to be impacted. I talked to the DCCA secretary and he also checked with federal grantors [who told him that] those programs are intact.”
The governor said he is now reviewing programs whose federal funding may be “problematic.”
He said he will also meet with department heads, and instruct them to take a look at their respective federally funded programs and contact their respective grantor agencies.
Also on Thursday, the governor issued a memorandum instructing department and agency heads to attend a mandatory meeting for all current grant recipients of the Office of Grants Management at 2:30 p.m. today, Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, in his conference room. Palacios said the meeting would cover important updates regarding federal grants and upcoming deadlines. He will also answer any questions and concerns the department heads may raise.
At the press conference, the governor said, “The fact of the matter is, the messaging that came out [from the White House] was a little bit confusing to say the least. We are trying to figure out what it is that we need to do. But I think, the best thing to do is to have every department and agency that receive federal funding to reach out immediately to their grantors.”
Court order
On Tuesday, Reuters reported that a U.S. judge temporarily blocked part of President Trump’s “sweeping directive to pause federal grants, loans and other financial aid, giving a win to advocacy groups that said it would disrupt programs that serve tens of millions of Americans.”
U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan ordered the Trump administration not to block funding for ongoing programs until Feb. 3 at a hearing in Washington court, Reuters reported.
‘Fake news’
On Wednesday, in a statement to Variety and other media outlets, the Office of Communications of the White House said:
“A score of Fake News outlets, including Axios, CNN, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and many others, claimed President Trump’s directive to temporarily pause certain federal spending was ‘rescinded.’
“FACT: No such thing took place. Instead, a memo from the Office of Management and Budget was rescinded in an effort to alleviate confusion — and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed President Trump’s order remains ‘in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented’ as the administration works to root out waste, fraud, and abuse.”
