A Federal court judge in Rhode Island issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on Jan. 31 that blocks the Trump administration and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) from freezing payments of trillions of dollars from government grant and loan programs – at least as it regards the 22 states and the District of Columbia that petitioned the court to do so.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) declared an abrupt reversal today of its Jan. 27 order to freeze trillions of dollars worth of Federal grant and loan program payments after the short-lived order created nearly universal confusion over and drew opposition from several states who successfully petitioned a Federal judge to block the order from taking effect.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) said in its annual report on governmentwide improper payments – defined as payments that shouldn’t have been made or were made for  incorrect amounts – jumped to 7.2 percent in Fiscal Year 2021 with the increase driven in part by soaring rates of unemployment insurance fraud during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) made several recommendations to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and others to improve coordination of cybersecurity requirements among Federal agencies to protect data shared with state government agencies.