(CLO) The administration of US President Donald Trump is expected to abandon a proposal to freeze hundreds of billions of dollars in aid on Wednesday, due to legal obstacles and widespread opposition.
In a policy reversal announced with little explanation late Monday, the White House budget office notified federal agencies that it was rescinding a memo that had ordered a pause in payments on grants and loans.
The new order comes just ahead of a federal court hearing on a lawsuit filed by Democratic-controlled state attorneys general seeking to block the freeze. A White House official said the reversal was an effort to head off legal challenges.
US President Donald Trump. Screenshot
The administration has said the freeze is intended to provide time to review programs that Mr. Trump has sought to cancel since returning to office, such as efforts to promote diversity, green energy and much foreign aid.
"We're just looking at large parts of the bureaucracy that have waste and abuse," Mr. Trump said at the White House.
At the White House, Mr Trump said he would also order the preparation of 30,000 beds at the Guantanamo Bay military prison to process migrants deported under his immigration crackdown.
The White House said Mr Trump would also target pro-Palestinian student protesters by revoking their student visas. Mr Trump has supported Israel in its war with Hamas.
Democrats in the US Congress say Mr Trump has repeatedly violated the rules since returning to power, but his Republican allies have so far shown little interest in challenging him.
The Republican-controlled US Senate has confirmed all of Mr Trump's appointees so far, even Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who passed on a 51-50 vote despite facing allegations of sexual assault and alcohol abuse.
During his confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Mr. Trump’s pick for health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was criticized for his anti-vaccine views. But most Republicans at the hearing stood by him.
Trump's pick for commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, has also received a warm welcome from lawmakers as he has endorsed the US president's pro-tariff stance and complained about Canada's trade practices.
Hoang Hai (according to Reuters, Guardian, Yahoo)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/nha-trang-thu-hoi-lenh-dung-vien-tro-co-the-dua-nguoi-nhap-cu-vao-nha-tu-guantanamo-post332416.html
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