Donald Trump’s move to pause trillions of dollars in federal grants and loans awakened widespread Democratic resistance to the new president’s second term that was felt Tuesday on Capitol Hill, in governors’ offices and in the race to helm the party’s national committee.

Democrats are crying foul as the White House budget office pauses all grants and loans disbursed by the federal government to ensure its programs are consistent with President Donald Trump’s executive orders.

President Trump's freezing of federal aid and grants and his mass firing of inspector generals has quickly shocked congressional Democrats into a coordinated resistance movement. Why it matters: One week after the 2025 inauguration,

Senate Democrats are demanding Republicans postpone a vote scheduled for Thursday on Russell Vought, President Trump’s nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget, after the budget office on Monday issued a broadly worded memo freezing large swaths of federal assistance.