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Northwestern’s Response to Federal Government Actions

Dear members of the Northwestern community,

Monday evening, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced a temporary pause on federal financial assistance programs, an order that was temporarily blocked by a federal judge late yesterday afternoon. This afternoon, the White House rescinded the memorandum, but a White House spokesperson later tweeted that it was “NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze.”

The rapid and shifting sequence of events underscores the ongoing uncertainty around the recent Executive Orders and related agency actions as the country transitions to a new administration.

As directives and legal challenges play out, Northwestern’s leadership is reviewing the orders and their potential impacts on our community.  

Clarifying guidance from OMB indicated that direct financial assistance to individuals such as Pell grants, student loans and veterans benefits are not affected. The full effects on federally funded research are less clear.

We recommend that absent a written stop-work order or other written notice from a federal agency, Northwestern faculty, staff, students and postdocs who are supported by federal funding move forward with their normal work activities. While Northwestern is not limiting expenditures at this time, we are awaiting further clarification from the federal government as to whether that will be necessary.

We are monitoring these issues carefully and will provide updates and additional resources as they become available. The University will launch a website soon to hold this information.

Please know that in addition to determining the best courses of action for Northwestern, we are actively advocating for our community, stressing the value of your contributions to our local communities and to society.

Thank you for all you do to make Northwestern a world-class university.