Trump overhauls $1T taxpayer funds with English and E-Verify rules
The Trump administration is preparing sweeping reforms to federal grant-making that will restrict access to nearly one trillion dollars by prioritizing citizens and enabling faster program cancellations.
The Office of Management and Budget is set to propose major changes to address what officials describe as critical weaknesses in the grants system, according to New York Post. The reforms target at least 190,000 grants issued during the final year of the Biden administration.
Officials familiar with the plan told New York Post that the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees approximately 85 billion dollars in annual grant spending, and the Department of Transportation, responsible for roughly 45 billion dollars yearly, will see the most significant impacts.
Political Appointees Gain Final Authority
Under the proposal from OMB Director Russ Vought, political appointees will assume final approval authority over federal grant disbursements. Performance will be closely tracked using tools including the Treasury Department’s Do Not Pay registry.
An OMB official explained the fundamental shift away from guaranteed multi-year funding arrangements that previously invited poor performance. Instead of automatic quarterly or annual payments regardless of results, grant recipients will now face payment tied to actual performance, with the threat of cancellation for failure to deliver.
Citizenship Verification and English Requirements
All federal grant recipients must now undergo verification through the E-Verify system to ensure only American citizens receive taxpayer funds. Additionally, all funding announcements will carry English-language requirements.
The changes expand federal oversight of grantees who receive money through state programs, allowing more thorough vetting before taxpayer dollars are distributed.
Fraud Referrals Fast-Tracked
Legitimate fraud complaints against grant recipients must now be referred to inspectors general and DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office within ten days of being flagged by agencies. This replaces a previous system that could allow internal investigations to drag on for years.
Any grants that fail to align with President Trump’s executive actions and policies face suspension or termination, if they have not already been eliminated. This includes awards promoting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs, gender ideology, or renewable energy initiatives that Republicans have dubbed the Green New Scam.
Immediate Cancellation Authority
Even grants that passed all qualification checks and received funding can be immediately terminated if they deviate from presidential policy commitments, officials emphasized. They argued the safeguards will eliminate some of the worst abuses within the grant-making system while protecting taxpayer resources and preventing federal funding of efforts hostile to American culture and values.
The measures are designed to prevent fraud on the scale witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic, which federal authorities estimate cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars.
The Trump administration has already moved aggressively to restrict federal funding to blue state welfare programs, freezing over ten billion dollars in large block grant programs this past January before facing court challenges. A task force led by Vice President JD Vance also revoked nearly 260 million dollars in Medicaid funding from Minnesota in February over fraud concerns.
With information from New York Post
