Confusion followed the Jan. 27 announcement from the White House budget office that ordered a pause on all federal grants and loans, as the scale of the potential impact on the University of Connecticut and its student body was unclear. Although the impact of this is still not entirely clear, the Department of Education has said that federal Pell grants and direct student loans would not be affected by this pause, according to Madison Biedermann, the spokesperson for the education agency.
“The temporary pause does not impact ‘assistance received directly by individuals.’ As such, Title IV, HEA funds that are provided to individual students, such as Federal Pell Grants and Direct Loans, are not impacted by [Jan. 28’s] guidance,” Biedermann said.
UConn Spokesperson Stephanie Reitz commented on the steps that UConn is taking to address the potential pause of federal aid.
“The university is actively reviewing the various executive orders and other actions being taken by the new administration in Washington and assessing their potential impact on higher education and UConn specifically,” Reitz said. “Some of these actions are straightforward, while others are not and require more intensive analysis, at times aided by external guidance, before their potential meaning and impact can be fully understood.”
Reitz also acknowledged the fact that Pell grants will not be affected by this change and mentioned that Pell grants are “critically important for our community and other higher ed institutions.” According to Reitz, approximately 33% of all undergraduate UConn students receive Pell grants.
President Radenka Maric and Provost Anne D’Alleva commented on the potential impact of this pause in a statement regarding recent executive orders from President Donald Trump. The message stated that the extent to which the pause and federal directives will affect “DEI/DEIA initiatives” and research is “not yet fully understood” and that more analysis is required.
The pause was temporarily blocked by U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan soon after the announcement. AliKhan is expected to come to a decision today on whether or not to instate a longer-term block on the pause. Until she reaches a decision on the issue, the pause of federal grants and loan disbursements will not take effect.
Attorney General William Tong also released a statement on the day the pause was announced.
“This is a full assault on Connecticut families—an unprecedented and blatantly lawless and unconstitutional attack on every corner and level of our government and economy. Attorney generals across the country are preparing imminent legal action to protect our states. Connecticut and my team are front and center in this fight and will provide updates in real time to Connecticut as this unfolds. Today is not a day for politics— everyone irrespective of party should be standing with Connecticut against this devastating attack on our state,” Tong said.
Following this statement, the Office of the Attorney General announced that Connecticut was joined by 22 other states in suing the federal government to “stop [the] Trump administration from withholding essential federal funding,” according to a press release.
The press release states that the pause would “immediately jeopardize state programs that provide critical health and childcare services to families in need, deliver support to public schools, combat hate crimes and violence against women, provide life-saving disaster relief to states, and more.”
The White House budget office rescinded their initial memo announcing the pause of federal grants and loan disbursement on Jan. 29, though White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later stated that the effort to pause federal aid would continue.