The full extent of the order was not immediately clear, but the directive sent to government agencies on Monday threatened to paralyze a vast swath of federal programs.

A coalition of Democratic state attorneys general announced legal action against the White House budget office Tuesday over its directive to freeze federal assistance while reviewing whether

Presidents from both parties, including Trump, have let the budget grow and grow. The White House is trying to make changes on its own.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt vehemently defended the administration’s sweeping freeze on federal aid, arguing Tuesday in her first press briefing that it was critical to scrutinize the scope of the government’s spending.

Nutrition programs that deliver food assistance to millions of U.S. families will not be affected by a White House pause on federal grants and loans, a senior official said on Tuesday. The White House's Office of Management and Budget said in a memo on Monday that federal grants and loans would be put on hold for review to ensure the programs were aligned with President Donald Trump's priorities,

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill

The freeze on hundreds of billions of dollars of federal grants had been temporarily halted by a judge on Tuesday.