QUICK TURNAROUND: TRUMP SHORT-CIRCUITS FUNDING CONTROVERSY. The flap over the Trump White House’s temporary freeze on some discretionary federal funding was the first controversy of the second Trump administration that reminded observers of the early days of the first Trump administration. The new White House issued a wide-ranging directive without fully detailing what it would and would not do, allowing its political and media adversaries to speculate wildly on the terrible effects the new action might have. The White House and its defenders were left trying to knock down the speculation and explain what was happening.

The funding flap was particularly important right now because Democrats and many in the media, itching to oppose Donald Trump, had been completely overwhelmed by the sheer volume and scope of his executive actions in the first 10 days of his presidency. The funding issue gave them something to grab on to.