WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s budget office on Wednesday rescinded an order freezing spending on federal grants, less than two days after it sparked widespread confusion and legal challenges across the country, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The White House Office of Management and Budget on Wednesday rescinded a memo that froze federal grants and loans and created widespread confusion this week.

The White House budget office on Wednesday rescinded an order freezing federal grants, according to a copy of a new memo obtained by The Washington Post, after the administration’s move to halt spending earlier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

We have a constitutional crisis,” Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley said of Team Trump's latest scheme. It's worth appreciating what the label means.

The OMB memo had directed federal agencies to pause grants and loans pending a review of compliance with the agenda of President Donald Trump.

The Trump administration’s push for a sweeping pause on federal grants and loans totaling potentially trillions of dollars is on hold for now, on the order of a federal judge.

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.

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.

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill