The Trump administration has paused work on a decades-old charitable arm of the government which allows federal workers to donate part of their paycheck to a cause, while officials decide whether to keep the program going, according to a recent report.
The Combined Federal Campaign, which falls under the Office of Personnel Management, has raised more than $9 billion for charitable organizations since the early 1960s, including St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Doctors Without Borders USA, Feeding America, the Wounded Warrior Project, and more.
But ahead of its 2025 solicitation period, when federal employees can pledge their time and money to charities, it has paused work, the Washington Post reported on Friday.
A note, which the Post reported was on the Combined Federal Campaign website, says that the Office of Personnel Management issued a “Stop Work Order” on August 26, affecting the organization’s upcoming website launch which was set for September.
The Independent has asked the Office of Personnel Management for comment.
It’s unclear what exactly led the administration to pause the Combined Federal Campaign recently.
A spokesperson for the Office of Personnel Managment told the Post that the administration has not made a decision on whether or not they will continue with the charity drive this year.
However, the administration has taken a harsh stance on the government supporting organizations that do not align with President Donald Trump’s policies – including by charitable means.
This past year, administration officials revoked funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development and essentially gutted the federal agency for supporting charitable endeavors that it did not agree with.
Some of the major charities that federal workers have donated the most to include Planned Parenthood Federation of America, which has had Medicaid funding revoked as part of Trump’s signature legislation; National Public Radio Inc., which Trump has railed against and signed an executive order to revoke funding for; and the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, the charitable arm of the organization that has filed countless lawsuits against the administration.
“Frankly, I don’t understand or know why the government wouldn’t run the campaign,” Jim Starr, the president and CEO of America’s Charities, which supports charities in the Combined Federal Campaign, told the Post.
“No taxpayer dollars are used to fund it, all the costs of the campaign are absorbed by the participating charities, and it’s a great way for government employees to support charitable causes that they care about in their community and across the country,” Starr added.
Starr said several charities learned about the paused charity drive from their networks, rather than directly from the Office of Personnel Management.
Some of those charities have already paid application and listing fees to be included in the charity drive for this year.
