Federal Changes Timeline

Updated July 1, 2025

This timeline explores the events leading to the federal challenges and changes, as well as the legal actions taken since. We will regularly update it as the situation continues to develop.

June 30: The USDA announced the agency will pause accepting applications under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), regardless of funding source. They anticipate being able to accept both farm bill and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) applications for FY26 awards in October of this year.

June 19: It was reported by AgriPulse that the USDA rescinded Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) awards to organizations slated to receive IRA-sourced funding.

June 17: The USDA announced the cancellation of more than 145 diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) focused awards totaling nearly $150 million.

April 20: The 90-day deadline for agency review of funding related to the IRA, as per the January 20 Unleashing American Energy Executive Order.

April 16: A federal judge in one of three lawsuits challenging frozen funds handed down a preliminary injunction, ordering the USDA, EPA, and other agencies to immediately release billions of dollars awarded under the IRA and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

April 14: The USDA announced the cancellation of the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities (PCSC), sharing that the agency was reforming it into the Advancing Markets for Producers (AMP) initiative. OEFFA was a recipient of some of that PCSC funding, funneled through the Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry (CSAF) program.

March 27: Senator Cory Booker introduced the Honor Farmer Contracts Act, a bill that would require USDA to unfreeze all signed contracts and agreements and make past due payments as quickly as possible. It would prohibit USDA from cancelling agreements or contracts with farmers or organizations, unless there has been a breach of the terms and conditions. OEFFA was one of 352 farm and food groups that endorsed the bill.

March 25: The USDA announced it will release obligated funding under the Rural Energy For America Program (REAP), Empowering Rural America (New ERA), and Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE) programs within 30 days. The agency also provided an opportunity for recipients to eliminate “Biden-era DEIA and climate mandates embedded in previous proposals.” Recipients have 30 days to review and voluntarily revise project plans to align with Trump’s Unleashing American Energy Executive Order.

March 19: The city of Columbus, Ohio, joined OEFFA partners Marbleseed, Pasa, and RAFI in filing a lawsuit against the US government for unlawfully withholding approved federal funds.

March 7: The USDA sent 60-day termination notices to nationwide administrators of the Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) Cooperative Agreement.

March 6: A second federal judge indefinitely blocked the blanket freeze on federal grants and loans, one of three lawsuits challenging the rescinded OMB memo.

March 5: The Merit Systems Protection Board issued a temporary stay, ordering the USDA to temporarily reinstate 5,700 employees fired since February 13, citing grounds that their terminations were illegal. The total number of USDA layoffs is unknown.

February 26: Executive Order 14222 was issued, giving all federal agencies 30 days to review all existing contracts and grants —and subsequently modify or terminate them based on any misalignment with the Administration’s priorities.

February 26: A memo was issued, directing federal agency heads to submit phase one plans for Reductions in Force (RIF) by March 13. Phase two RIFs are due for review and approval by April 14.

February 21: A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction, blocking the termination of equity-related grants and contracts as potentially unconstitutional.

February 20: The Secretary of Agriculture announced the release of $20 million (of $5.7 billion in total obligated funding) in frozen IRA-funded farmer contracts.

February 14: The USDA issued a statement outlining actions to eliminate positions at the department, including the termination of thousands of employees across the National Resources Conservation Service, the Farm Service Agency, and others under the USDA umbrella.

February 11: Executive Order 14210 was issued, outlining the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) changes to create a “critical transformation of the Federal Bureaucracy.”

February 6: A memo was issued, stating that “[i]t is the policy of the Administration to stop funding NGOs that undermine the national interest.”

February 5: A memo was issued requiring the DOJ Civil Rights Division to “investigate, eliminate, and penalize illegal DEI and DEIA preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and activities in the private sector and in educational institutions that receive federal funds.” Federal agencies were instructed to “retain the minimum number of employees necessary to ensure agency compliance with applicable disability and accessibility laws.”

January 31: A second federal judge—through a lawsuit brought by 22 states and D.C.—issued an administrative stay on the funding freeze. It was extended into a temporary restraining order on February 3.

January 29: The OMB rescinded the memo, issuing a clarification that the memo did not mean a freeze on funding to individuals. However, the White House Press Secretary maintained that the Executive Orders still stood, and the freeze persisted for program funding pertaining to climate change and DEI, among others.

January 28: A lawsuit was filed by a collection of nonprofits, resulting in a temporary restraining order to stop the memo from going into effect.

January 27: The White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memo establishing a widespread freeze on federal loan and grant spending for “foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI initiatives, gender-affirming services, and the green new deal.”

January 27: The White House’s Office of Personnel Management issued a memo, giving agencies 90 days to conduct preliminary reviews of positions

January 21: Executive Order 14173 was issued, laying out the groundwork to specifically target private sector entities conducting or funding DEI work.

January 20: Executive Order 13985 was issued, placing all federal employees working on DEI-related programs on administrative leave.

January 20: Executive Order 14154 was issued, immediately pausing the disbursement of funds appropriated through the IRA. Agencies were given 90 days to review and submit reports on all grants, loans, contracts, or other financial disbursements related to the “Green New Deal.”