Trump Funding Freeze

The Trump administration last week ordered federal agencies to stop disbursing funds under the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure laws. The order requires agencies to halt distributions so that the Trump administration can “review their processes, policies, and programs for issuing grants, loans, contracts, or any other financial disbursements of such appropriated funds for consistency with the law.” Federal agencies have 90 days to report to the Office of Management and Budget and the National Economic Council and provide information on how the spending freeze comports with the new administration’s energy policies.

We asked two professors and authors of ALM’s Tax Facts with opposing political viewpoints to share their opinions about Trump’s decision to halt Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Act funding.

Below is a summary of the debate that ensued between the two professors.