Scope: Federal
Branch: Executive
Severity: Amber
Date occurred: August 28, 2025
The President signed a memorandum addressing the use of appropriated funds by federal grantees for lobbying and partisan political activity. The memorandum directs executive agencies to apply and enforce restrictions on such uses of grant funds.
Constitutional basis: Executive conditions on grantee speech, petition, and association enforced through agency funding discretion, untested against First Amendment unconstitutional-conditions limits.