As some readers know, this blogger also holds a day job at the University of Hawai’i, working in the grants office at Kapiʻolani Community College.
One of the main tasks each morning — now more than ever — is checking emails from a U.S. government site called “grants.gov.” This blogger looks for newly released grant opportunities from various federal departments that organizations like Kapiʻolani CC can apply for.
PC: NASA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Most grants are directed at specific types of organizations — for example, major research universities like UH Mānoa. Others go to agencies that serve the public, such as nonprofits or state departments like Labor.
When a grant opportunity fits the college, the grants office jumps in to assist the applicant. That process is a story for another time.
When the Trump Administration took office on January 20, things shifted immediately. New Executive Orders (specifically Executive Orders 14151 and 14173) instructed federal departments to re-evaluate their current and upcoming grant offerings, even scrutinizing the language used in them. The result? A near-total freeze on new grants.
Then came the creation of the “Department of Government Efficiency,” or DOGE, led by Elon Musk. The White House told federal agencies they had to work with DOGE and include them in the drafting and approval process for grants.
By April, DOGE had expanded its reach. It wasn’t just departments that had to clear grants with them — the Grants.gov platform itself was taken over. Every grant now had to pass through DOGE’s internal gatekeepers and then again through political appointees before being publicly posted.
This bottleneck caused a major slowdown. The number of grants posted dropped from over 50 on January 19 to just a handful by February 19 — a one-month drop that also stalled regular, recurring grant cycles.
The initial and further impact of DOGE involvement was serious. Thousands of programs that rely on these funds suddenly found themselves without direction or support.
Whether due to internal pushback or the fallout of the Trump–Musk alliance, by late June, according to an article in the Washington Post, the federal government announced that agencies could resume standard operations on Grants.gov. Prior procedures were reinstated.
PC: State Department, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
This change, it is hoped, will allow many delayed grants to move forward. But time is running out. With the federal fiscal year ending September 30, some grants may not make it to be released before their funding expires.
This blogger has heard that some grants that used to allow 60 days for a response may now give just 30. That’s a huge cut — and one that could doom many opportunities. Some grants are complex and ask for very specific deliverables. Applicants may have to work overtime just to hit the new deadlines, with less time for review and collaboration.
All in all, from now until the end of the fiscal year, the pace will be frantic for both applicants and the federal workers who must score and award grants. And all of it is happening with reduced staffing and possible cuts from Trump-approved funding bills making their way through Congress.
DOGE’s grip on the grant process may have lasted only a few months, but the effects could stretch much longer. There’s growing uncertainty about what rules now apply, and confusion is spreading — even among experienced organizations that once felt confident in how to compete for federal support.
Politics Hawaii with Stan Fichtman is a recipient of a 2023 Hawaii Society of Professional Journalist award. This year, the publication is once again nominated for recognition. Awards will be announced on July 30, 2025.