A federal judge blocked President Trump’s federal aid freeze Friday, finding that Democratic state attorneys general who sued are likely to prevail in their claims that it is illegal.
U.S. District Judge John McConnell signaled at a hearing earlier this week that he would grant the motion from 22 states and Washington, D.C., for an immediate injunction.
Already, the Trump administration was prevented from freezing existing federal grants under a separate judge’s order, but that decision only lasts until Monday. McConnell’s ruling will extend until he can consider the states’ request for a longer injunction, which has yet to be filed.
“Are there some aspects of the pause that might be legal and appropriate constitutionally for the Executive to take? The Court imagines there are, but it is equally sure that there are many instances in the Executive Orders’ wide-ranging, all-encompassing, and ambiguous ‘pause’ of critical funding that are not,” McConnell, who was appointed by former President Obama, wrote in Friday’s ruling.
“The Court must act in these early stages of the litigation under the ‘worst case scenario’ because the breadth and ambiguity of the Executive’s action makes it impossible to do otherwise,” he continued.
The Monday night memo from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which directed federal agencies to pause disbursement of grants while the administration ensures spending aligns with Trump’s agenda, set off widespread confusion this week and quickly sparked legal challenges.
The memo was later withdrawn, but McConnell said that reversal “was in name only” and pointed to how White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has cautioned the administration was only rescinding the memo itself, not the funding freeze.
The rescission “may have been issued simply to defeat the jurisdiction of the courts. The substantive effect of the directive carries on,” the judge wrote.
McConnell’s order prevents the administration from adopting the OMB directive or cutting off the states’ federal grant funding. The block will last until the judge can consider the states’ motion for a longer injunction, which has not yet been filed.
The case, filed in federal court in Rhode Island, is one of two major challenges. The federal aid freeze is already on hold under a separate case brought by nonprofits and public health groups in D.C., but that hold only lasts until Monday, when the judge is set to conduct an additional hearing.
The Hill reached out to the Justice Department for comment.
New York Attorney Letitia James (D), whose office is leading the states’ lawsuit, celebrated Friday’s ruling.
“I will keep fighting to protect essential services like childcare services that millions of Americans depend on. The rule of law is not subject to the whims of the president,” James wrote on the social media platform X.
