By Jeff Mason, Steve Holland and Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON -President Donald Trump's administration appeared to abandon its proposed freeze on hundreds of billions of dollars in aid on Wednesday in the face of legal setbacks and widespread opposition,

The White House budget office on Wednesday rescinded an order freezing federal grants, according to a copy of a new memo obtained by The Washington Post, after the administration’s move to halt spending earlier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

The White House budget office Wednesday rescinded the federal aid freeze, according to multiple media reports citing an administration memo.

President Donald Trump’s budget office has rescinded a memo freezing spending on federal grants, less than two days after it sparked widespread confusion and legal challenges across the country

The Trump administration has put a hold on all federal financial grants and loans, affecting tens of billions of dollars in payments.

Officials said the decision to halt loans and grants was necessary to ensure spending complies with recent executive orders.

The Trump’s administration’s Office of Management and Budget released a new memo Wednesday rescinding a controversial memo issued late Monday that froze a wide swath of federal financial assistance, which had paralyzed many federal programs and caused a huge uproar on Capitol Hill.

Two-sentence memo ends days-long threats that sent officials, agencies and nonprofits into tailspin over ‘unconstitutional’ threats

The full extent of the order was not immediately clear, but the directive sent to government agencies on Monday threatened to paralyze a vast swath of federal programs.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House Office of Management and Budget has rescinded a Trump administration directive pausing federal loans, grants and other financial assistance, a White House official said on Wednesday.