COEUR d’ALENE — In the wake of President Donald Trump’s order to halt federal grants and loans while the Republican administration determines whether the spending complies with a flurry of recent executive orders, federal grant recipients in North Idaho are waiting for answers about how their programs will be affected.

“The use of federal resources to advance Marxist equality, transgenderism and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve,” said a memo from Matthew Vaeth, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget. 

A federal judge temporarily blocked parts of the order Tuesday, minutes before the funding freeze was set to take effect, in response to a lawsuit filed by a nonprofit group. The judge’s order lasts until Monday afternoon and applies only to existing programs. The freeze has the potential to affect trillions of dollars nationwide. 

Trump administration officials said programs that provide direct assistance to Americans would not be affected, such as Medicare, Social Security and student loans. 

“Funds for small businesses, farmers, Pell grants, Head Start, rental assistance and other similar programs will not be paused,” a memo from the OEM said in part. 

But local entities reached by The Press on Tuesday were still trying to determine how the freeze might impact their programs, with little guidance from the federal government. 

Nancy Phillips, temporary administrative director of Lake City Center, expressed concern that a federal funding pause could affect services. 

Lake City Center provides a lifeline to hundreds of local seniors through its home-delivered meals program, bringing thousands of meals each month to vulnerable seniors in Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls, Hayden, Dalton Gardens, Hauser and Huetter. 

“We haven’t gotten any guidance yet about how it’s going to affect us,” Phillips said. 

Some of Lake City Center’s funding comes from the Area Agency on Aging, which in turn receives funds from the Idaho Commission on Aging. The Administration for Community Living provides funding for the latter entity. 

Sage Stoddard, director of the Area Agency on Aging of North Idaho, said her agency, like many others, is in a holding pattern and waiting for more information. 

“We did get an email from the Idaho Commission on Aging earlier today that said they are in communication with both the ACL and the governor’s office,” she said Tuesday. “They will get back to us when they know more.” 

Kootenai County Commissioner Bruce Mattare — who is attending the Idaho Association of Counties’ legislative conference in Boise this week— said the county hadn’t received additional guidance on the freeze as of Tuesday afternoon. 

“I think we need to see where the focus is on the grants and if it’s comprehensive or narrow in its review,” he told The Press via text. 

Mattare said state-level agencies will likely be the first to feel any impact because a lot of federal funding passes through the state before it is dispersed elsewhere. 

“(Counties) will likely be the next to know of the impact, if any,” he said. 

Idaho Gov. Brad Little’s administration is “examining the temporary pause on certain federal grants and financial assistance programs to ensure consistency with President Trump’s policies,” according to the governor’s office. 

“Gov. Little is all in on President Trump’s efforts to rein in federal spending,” said Joan Varsek, Little’s press secretary. “As Gov. Little has said many times in the past, Idaho is better positioned than any other state to handle changes at the federal level because of how well we have managed government and the budget at the state level.” 

In a Tuesday letter to superintendents and charter administrators, Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield said the U.S. Department of Education had clarified that the freeze applies only to discretionary education grants.

The freeze does not apply to Title I programs for low-income students, the Individuals with Disabilities Act or other formula grants, according to the letter, nor to federal Pell grants and direct loans under the Higher Education Act. 

While the clarification is “helpful,” Critchfield wrote, “questions remain.” 

“I encourage districts and charters to proceed with caution when making financial commitments related to federal funds that may not be reimbursable,” she wrote. 

Entities throughout Idaho have little choice but to wait for details. 

“Like everybody, I’ve got more questions than answers,” Tyrel Stevenson, legislative director for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, said Tuesday, after the injunction was put in place. 

The Coeur d’Alene Tribe is a government, Stevenson said, and like local and state governments, it administers many federal grants. But it’s unclear at this time what funds would be affected by the Trump administration’s freeze. 

“The Tribe is in the same position as a lot of governments right now,” Stevenson said. “The situation is changing so quickly. Things are so much different now than they were 24 hours ago. Right now, it looks like business as usual, but even that, I don’t know for sure.”

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.