BATON ROUGE — An order from the White House to pause federal grants and loans has itself been put on pause after a federal judge temporarily blocked the order.

President Donald Trump says his executive order is intended to ensure government spending is in line with his other recent executive orders. While the scope is broad, there are some certainties and some questions.

President Trump promised on the campaign trail to cut government spending. The freeze wouldn’t be permanent, but it is far-reaching.

James Hartman, a political analyst, says the immediate shock could impact some of Trump’s core supporters. The federal spending pause is expected to last until Feb. 10, though it does not stop student loans, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, food stamps or scholarships.

"We're really going to see the ripple effects of this probably pretty rapidly,” Hartman said.

The Office of Management and Budget suggested the hold to ensure that loans and financial assistance programs expressly complied with executive orders signed during Trump’s first week in office.

The argument from conservatives is that states need to move away from federal reliance and they say these changes could make states more self-sufficient.

Gov. Jeff Landry and other Republican lawmakers say the state has “adequate resources” for now and that they backed Trump’s plan to cut government waste. 

"But maybe that should be done one line item at a time," Hartman said.

Democratic lawmakers, including Rep. Cleo Fields of Baton Rouge, said the pause violates the Constitution and a 1974 law that restricts the president from withholding funds approved by Congress.

Under the judge’s order, the spending pause is on hold until Monday.