If you are trying to figure out whether now is the time to buy bonds, watch the White House more than the Federal Reserve. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield has been rising toward 5%, Fed interest-rate cuts be damned.

“Matthew J. Vaeth, the acting director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, instructs federal agencies to “temporarily pause all activities related to obligations or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance.”

The Trump administration reversed its policy to freeze grants and loans while officials evaluated whether spending met the president's priorities.

The White House budget office Wednesday rescinded the federal aid freeze, according to multiple media reports citing an administration memo.

The White House Office of Management and Budget has rescinded a Trump administration directive pausing federal loans, grants and other financial assistance, a White House official said on Wednesday. (Reporting by Jeff Mason and Jasper Ward) Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.