Officials said the decision to halt loans and grants was necessary to ensure spending complies with recent executive orders.

The White House Office of Management and Budget has rescinded the federal aid freeze, according to a memo obtained by CNN from a Trump administration official.

The freeze on hundreds of billions of dollars of federal grants had been temporarily halted by a judge on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON - The White House Office of Management and Budget has rescinded a Trump administration directive pausing federal loans, grants and other financial assistance, the White House confirmed on Wednesday.

The White House budget office on Wednesday rescinded an order freezing federal grants, according to a copy of a new memo obtained by The Washington Post, after the administration’s move to halt spending earlier this week provoked a backlash.

The new memorandum, just two sentences long, will allow agencies to continue their normal operations after uncertainty over the impact of the initial directive caused widespread chaos across government. It followed a temporary injunction by a federal judge that prevented the original Office of Management and Budget memo from taking effect.

The Trump administration ordered a temporary pause on federal grants, loans and financial assistance. What we know so far about the order.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt vehemently defended the administration’s sweeping freeze on federal aid, arguing Tuesday in her first press briefing that it was critical to scrutinize the scope of the government’s spending.