Schumer lauds 'small victory' with funding freeze rescission, calls on Trump to boot Vought for OMB

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer took a small victory lap around the White House’s decision to rescind an order for a temporary freeze on federal aid, vowing that the move was the first of many fights Democrats were ready to wage against the Trump administration. 

The White House on Wednesday opted to rescind a memo from the Office of Management and Budget that had ordered a temporary freeze on all federal loans and grants, after a district court judge blocked the move Tuesday night. 

Mr. Schumer, New York Democrat, vilified the memo as “cruel” and “dumb,” and said that it was clear the directive was given without any “clear comprehension” of what it would call for. He chalked up the White House’s decision to backtrack on the budget office’s guidance as an example of what happens when “Americans fight back against disastrous policies.” 

“It’s a long war,” Mr. Schumer said. “This may be a small victory but it’s a long war and we’ve still got to fight it.” 

The memo and subsequent outcry gave Democrats one of their first actions to rally around in the early days of Mr. Trump’s whirlwind presidency as they search for an identity following their losses in November. 

The top Democrat in the Senate also demanded that Mr. Trump rescind his nomination of Russell Vought to lead the OMB, arguing that the president’s pick to run the agency would be the architect of more losses for his administration. 

Lawmakers on the Senate Budget Committee are set to vote Thursday on whether to advance Mr. Vought’s nomination, and Democrats had called on the panel to delay its vote until the funding freeze was cleared up.

The OMB’s memo, which was released on Monday, immediately caused a wave of confusion in Washington and across the country as to which channels of federal money would keep flowing, and which wouldn’t. 

Outcry led to court action, and eventually the decision to kill the directive. However, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt made clear that while the OMB memo was rescinded to “clear up confusion” that stemmed from the court’s injunction, and Mr. Trump’s executive orders halting federal aid remained. 

Sen. Patty Murray, Washington Democrat, like Mr. Schumer, vowed that the battle was far from over, and acknowledged that Mr. Trump’s executive orders were still in full effect. 

“That means they are still blocking investments that Congress passed into law to help our communities,” Ms. Murray said.