Trump administration pushes $1 trillion in federal subsidy reform

The Trump administration is pushing for a reform of the subsidy distribution system that would encompass $1 trillion in federal aid. The plan, spearheaded by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), includes stricter requirements for beneficiaries and the possibility of withholding funds from initiatives that do not align with the White House's priorities.

As reported exclusively by the New York Post, the OMB plans to correct "significant deficiencies" in many grants, including at least 190,000 dating back to the last year of the Biden administration. The reviews would focus primarily on the Department of Health and Human Services(HHS) and the Department of Transportation. Respectively, these agencies oversee $85 billion and $45 billion in annual grants.

Specifically, the OMB seeks to give officials more authority to approve or block federal grants. In addition, agencies receiving funds will have to meet new conditions tied to English language handling, immigration controls and performance goals. The government also intends to speed up audits and fraud investigations.

Another focal point of the reform is the expansion of E-Verify, the federal system that allows checking whether a person is legally authorized to work in the United States. OMB seeks to have organizations, contractors, and entities that receive federal funds use this system to verify their employees' employment status.

In the fight against fraud, the plan calls for all credible allegations of fraud against federal grant recipients to be promptly forwarded to inspectors general and to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, headed by Jeanine Pirro. The new scheme sets a maximum ten-day deadline for making the referral, replacing the previous system, which did not set a specific deadline.

According to the initiative, all grants that are not aligned with the White House agenda will be suspended. Among the issues subject to cancellation would be those related to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), gender ideology and "green" programs.

"In the past, you got yourself a nice grant that might last three or four or five years for a certain amount every quarter or every year — and that's just an invitation for underperformance and under-delivery," one OMB official told the NYP.

"So we'll wipe those out and, instead, you're going to get paid for performance. You get a grant awarded with the policy shared from the president, signed off by a political appointee, and it damn well better produce, otherwise it could be canceled for cause," he added.