MIAMI — Donald Trump’s unexpected freeze on federal aid is poised to choke off programs from nutrition assistance to disaster relief in red states. But if House Republicans had any concerns about the sudden order on Tuesday morning during their retreat at Trump’s Doral resort, they weren’t telling reporters.
Instead, several told NOTUS they welcomed the surprise move from the Office of Management and Budget, which sprung the aid freeze announcement in a late-night memo on Monday.
GOP lawmakers told NOTUS they were unfazed about Trump’s potentially illegal flex of executive authority, overriding congressionally approved funding, and they weren’t concerned about the potentially massive impact on their constituents.
Even Appropriations Chair Rep. Tom Cole told NOTUS he wasn’t worried about the White House overstepping Congress’ power of the purse — the strings of which he personally holds.
“I don’t have a problem with it,” Cole said.
“It’s a legitimate exercise of executive oversight in areas they now control,” he said. “And to be fair to them, they don’t even have their people in place. They don’t have to just let things continue to go. They want to make sure things are consistent with the things they ran on, the things they believe in.”
Cole added that “if there’s a law in question,” he was confident the Trump administration would obey it. “But I don’t think, you know, putting a hold on things is anything extraordinary,” he continued. “I think it’s actually pretty important.”
Although the memo specifies that Medicare, Social Security and any assistance “provided directly to individuals” would be exempted, the full scope of the freeze still isn’t clear. Even lawmakers didn’t appear to have a firm grasp on the details or the impact on their constituents, though it seems that programs as far-reaching as foreign aid and as close to home as rental assistance would be affected.
The memo also did not indicate how long the freeze might last. But again, instead of expressing concern, several House Republicans told NOTUS they hope the Trump administration subjects federal programs to a detailed audit before resuming assistance programs.
“It’s a fair proposition that the taxpayers know where the money goes,” Trump’s former Interior Secretary Rep. Ryan Zinke said.
Of course, some Republicans were less bullish on the freeze. Financial Services Chair French Hill told NOTUS he didn’t “know a thing about it,” and veteran Rep. David Joyce simply wished reporters a “great day” when asked about the memo. But hardly any Republicans were immediately willing to actually push back on the directive.
“I bring in revenues,” Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith told reporters. “I don’t spend them.”
Moderate Rep. Don Bacon was the rare exception. Bacon, who represents a predominantly Democratic district in Nebraska, said he’s already heard fear from constituents worried about the life-altering breadth and undetermined length of the freeze.
“There’s real people that depend on these grants, and real people with real jobs, with missions,” Bacon said. “All I could say right now, ‘I hope it’s short-lived.’ There’s no reason for the disruption.”
It’s districts like Bacon’s that Republicans have to thank for delivering them their thin majority, and it’s those districts upon which control of the House could swing in 2026.
The House GOP campaigned heavily on cutting inflation in 2024, and it seems likely that the freeze would have the opposite impact, with initiatives like student loan programs and nutrition assistance potentially in the crosshairs. (A third of state revenue — more than $1 trillion a year — comes from federal aid.)
Democrats are already seizing on the memo, with the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee sending Democratic lawmakers a messaging document titled: “Republican Funding Freeze Will Raise Costs Across America.” The email encourages House Democrats to blast the GOP for the freeze by holding press conferences with local officials and broadcast it “across your platforms.”
“In a phrase: President Trump and Republicans are pushing an illegal scheme to choke off virtually all federal funding for basic services,” the email read. “If they get their way, hardworking American taxpayers will see their costs increase across the board.”
Still, as of Tuesday afternoon, House GOP leaders had only offered consistent praise for Trump’s sudden pause on federal assistance.
Majority Whip Tom Emmer told Politico that Trump is “doing exactly what he was elected to do.” The Republican Policy Committee Chair Kevin Hern added, “If you’re going to cut taxes and send money back home, then you also need to stop the spigot in Washington, D.C. You can’t do both.”
House GOP leaders will have more opportunity to speak on the memo at the retreat. Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to address the House Republicans Tuesday afternoon, and Speaker Mike Johnson is slated to sit down with The Hill during a “fireside chat.”
In the meantime, leadership appears to be letting top deputies like Cole go to bat for the president.
“I don’t know a president that hasn’t pushed the bounds,” Cole said when pressed on whether Trump has overstepped his authority. “That’s the nature of the presidency and the push and pull, back and forth between the executive branch.”
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Riley Rogerson and Reese Gorman are reporters at NOTUS.