On Monday, Jan. 27, the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a memorandum calling for the immediate suspension of funds from nationwide federal agencies. Two days later, the OMB rescinded the order in response to backlash from government officials and citizens; however, 5C community members continue to prepare for the future impact these administrative changes may have on their education.
In his first week as president, Trump signed dozens of orders aiming to erase what his administration described as “radical” and “anti-American” ideologies. These orders included the withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord, which leaves the U.S. to join Iran, Yemen and Libya as one of four countries in the world excluded from the agreement. Trump also enforced restrictions on public schools teaching about critical race theory and gender.
Though the memo aligned with Trump’s promise to make major changes as soon as he assumed office, many citizens were caught off guard by the order.
Politics major Anna Mone SC ’28 said she was shocked and fearful after hearing about the development.
“[The news] definitely set off alarm bells in my head,” she said.
Mone said she was frustrated with the Trump administration and its failure to protect and serve all citizens.
“The president takes an oath to protect and upstand every single person in their country. Millions and millions of people rely on their support and their protection,” she said. “I think we traditionally look up to a president as someone who is going to take care of you when you need help, and I think Trump has shown time and time again that he is not that person.”
Trump’s efforts to restructure federal organizations continued throughout the week. On Tuesday, Jan. 28, the Trump administration sent out an email to roughly two million federal workers offering them the option to resign their positions in return for compensation through Sept. 30.
The email, with the subject line “Fork in the Road,” outlined the changes federal workplaces should anticipate, including enhancing the standards of conduct and increasing the possibility for immediate termination.
To accept this offer, workers simply needed to reply to the email with “resign” in the subject line. They would then be officially terminated from their positions.
Though some argue that these early orders were part of a calculated demonstration of Trump’s political agenda and power, Scripps politics professor Thomas Kim said he views it differently.
“I think it was a mistake, a political mistake,” he said. “The reality is the vast majority of people in the United States are not really aware of what’s going on … so the funding freeze was like this huge, huge red flag that pops up across the United States for folks who are not really paying attention.”
Kim said that every day, people were forced to confront the reality that the events happening in D.C. can negatively impact them, too. He provided Medicaid as an example.
“I think around 40 percent of all births in the United States have some Medicaid coverage,” he said. “So if you’re busy having a baby, busy with your family, then all of a sudden this happens and you’re wondering what’s going to happen to you.”
The Trump administration faced pushback from terrified citizens, organizations and government officials. In response to the initial memo to freeze all federal funding, 22 states filed a lawsuit and a federal judge blocked the order. Two days later, on Jan. 29, the OMB rescinded the order.
However, the inconsistency led to even more confusion and chaos throughout the nation.
“I think it’s kind of scary as a citizen of this country knowing how uncertain and how precarious all these different initiatives are because you never really know where they’re coming from or how they’ll last,” Mone said.
Similarly, Kim said that the inconsistency further exemplified what he described as the Trump administration’s political incompetence.
The fluctuating orders continue to inflict anxiety and uncertainty throughout the nation, leaving citizens wondering how their livelihoods may be drastically altered at any moment. Kim said that he hopes to provide students in his politics classes with the skill sets needed to decipher how political power works in the United States.
Students at the 5Cs are certainly recognizing the need for such skills. Mika Ichikawa CM ’27 highlighted the fear and confusion instilled in many Americans as a result of the back-to-back memos, questioning the reasoning behind the quick turnaround of orders.
“I feel like his flurry of executive orders is definitely creating a sense of fear among a lot of people,” Ikachiwa said. “But I also don’t think people realize that there are checks and balances, and he won’t be able to go through with a lot of these things.”
Ichikawa shared his own sense of confusion.
“When I heard he rescinded it, it made me question what his real motives are, what work he’s doing behind the scenes and who he’s working with,” Ichikawa said.
In addition, Ichikawa highlighted the importance of having access to federally funded physical and mental healthcare services, especially for students who are experiencing anxiety from schoolwork and the transition away from home.
Both Ichikawa and Mone said they were worried about how a reinstated freeze would affect college students across the country, including at the Claremont Colleges.
“I know many people who rely almost entirely on FAFSA and support from federal funding [to go to school],” Mone said. “It’s really scary that everything they’re working for isn’t certain and could be taken away at any moment.”
Though FAFSA was supposedly unaffected by the memo, the uncertainty regarding future federal initiatives and changes remains at the forefront of many students’ minds. At an Associated Students of Pomona College (ASPC) meeting on Thursday, Jan. 30, acting Pomona President Robert Gaines shared his concerns and plans to protect student aid following the freeze.
Gaines said that he would prioritize students during these uncertain times, announcing an effort to mobilize resources that will ensure all students receive the aid they need, despite federal instability.
In an email exchange with TSL, Gaines expanded on his words from the ASPC meeting.
“The College is also closely monitoring decisions that the new White House administration announces and carefully assessing potential implications of those decisions for our students, faculty, staff and the College itself,” he wrote. “We will continue to reach out to those who are directly affected by these decisions to offer information and resources.”
Gaines noted that the college has developed an action plan in response to the memo and will activate the plan if the funding freeze is reinstated. In addition, Pomona’s administration is communicating with elected representatives about the problems a freeze enactment would create.
Though the federal funding freeze has been revoked, the changes to federal workplaces and resignation offers are still in effect and the conversations about the Trump administration’s exertion of power continue. As a result, Americans are left questioning what the future will hold and what federal changes to expect in the coming months.
“I’m interested to see what [Trump] continues to try to implement in a few months or in the next year,” Ichikawa said. “It’s only been two weeks of him being in office and already he’s done or said he will do so many things, but I’m wondering what will actually be carried out and how much he’ll be able to get away with.”
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