White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller tussled with Fox News’s Jacqui Heinrich on Friday over the Trump administration memo ordering a freeze in federal spending on loans and grants. The White House said the freeze, initiated by President Donald Trump’s Office of Management and Budget, was meant to give the administration time to assess whether the spending aligned with Trump’s policies.
A federal judge blocked the freeze on Wednesday, and the OMB rescinded the memo shortly afterward. In response, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt sowed confusion by announcing, “This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze. It is simply a rescission of the OMB memo.”
Heinrich, who is a Fox News White House correspondent, guest-hosted Friday’s edition of The Story, where she asked Miller to clarify matters
“Can you clear up whether the phrase is in effect?” she asked. “Because I obviously saw the press secretary say, ‘Memo rescinded, but the orders are still in …