KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Despite the Trump Administration rescinding an order Wednesday freezing federal loans and grants for various programs, uncertainty and concerns are still alive for local programs like EarlystART.
EarlystART is an organization serving over 80 families and 124 students from ages six weeks to five years old in the Kansas City area.
June McDaniel, the CEO at EarlystART, says the news about the initial order came as a shock, like a game without a rule book.
"I was just flabbergasted," McDaniel said. "It was just a reaction of, 'Oh my gosh, what are we going to do?'"
A federal judge blocked the initial order Tuesday evening right before it was set to go into effect.
"When you shut that down, you're taking everyone backwards," McDaniel said. "I cannot imagine having to close our doors due to the lack of funds."
The order demanded a pause on spending related to federal aid and programs including public safety, infrastructure projects, early childhood education programs and more.
“Medicare benefits, food stamps, welfare benefits, assistance that is going directly to individuals will not be impacted by this pause," said Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary in a Tuesday press conference.
In a tweet Wednesday, Leavitt confirmed this is quote, "not a rescission of the federal funding freeze" and instead just of the memo from the Office of Management and Budget.
This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze.
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) January 29, 2025
It is simply a rescission of the OMB memo.
Why? To end any confusion created by the court's injunction.
The President's EO's on federal funding remain in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented.
"It's irresponsible to use vague language," Kansas Rep. Sharice Davids said.
Davids says the lack of clarity over this order has a negative impact.
"We've got a lot of commitments that the federal government has made to our community through grants, through loan programs," Davids said. "And, making sure that we, as a federal government, adhering to those, it's concerning, and yes, I've been hearing about folks that are concerned about it."
Davids said she's heard from several Head Start programs like EarlystART in the past 24 hours.
"Just yesterday, I had so many conversations with folks," Davids said.
McDaniel said federal funding is the glue that holds her program together.
"This funding cannot stop," McDaniel said. "The pause alone is just going to be detrimental."
Davids wants legislators to do their homework.
“I want to see us supporting the critical programs, not cutting them," Davids said. "Congress has appropriated these funds. It is Congress' job to decide how the funding and how much grant funding exists. If things are not going the way Congress intended, we need to know so that we can then take action and address those issues."
In the meantime, McDaniel has been left to fill in the blanks.
"Our staff and our families have a lot of questions, and they want to understand what's happening," McDaniel said. "And so, they're obviously looking to us for those answers."
The students are just along for the ride while McDaniel pushes for a level playing field.
"Until something changes, we're just going to keep doing business as usual and serving our community," McDaniel said.
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KSHB 41 reporter Rachel Henderson covers neighborhoods in Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties. Share your story idea with Rachel.