The White House budget office on Wednesday rescinded an order freezing federal grants, according to a copy of a new memo obtained by The Washington Post, after the administration’s move to halt spending earlier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 temporary moratorium on some federal financial assistance programs was set to take effect Tuesday, setting off widespread confusion.

The withdrawal of the federal freeze was a stunning about-face for President Donald Trump’s White House, which has so far pushed the envelope to reshape the federal government, sowing chaos and confusion in firing career civil servants, pausing foreign aid programs and offering federal workers a buyout.

President Donald Trump rescinded an order freezing an array of federal grants, loans and financial assistance — a dramatic reversal after days of uncertainty and anxiety rocked governments and nonprofit organizations.

Congressional Democrats and good-government groups say President Donald Trump's Monday night directive to pause the distribution of trillions of dollars in federal grants and loans represents an immense power grab that would upend the constitutional separation of powers between different branches of government.

The order sparked uncertainty over a crucial financial lifeline for states, schools and organizations that rely on trillions of dollars from Washington.