Federal Judge Blocks Trump Administration's Plan to Freeze Federal Grant Funding

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration's plan to freeze federal grant funding across government agencies. The order was issued after a lawsuit from a coalition of nonprofit organizations and small businesses that argued the freeze would have a devastating impact on hundreds of thousands of grant recipients.

The judge's order is intended to preserve the status quo while legal proceedings continue. The White House has not yet responded to the decision.

The memo at issue was issued by acting White House Office of Management and Budget Director Matthew Vaeth and orders federal agencies to “temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all federal financial assistance.”

The memo sent nonprofits and public programs that support low-income families and vulnerable Americans into a tailspin, sparking fears of imminent cuts to disaster relief, healthcare, childcare, infrastructure support and groups that support homeless people and veterans, among a wide range of other programs that depend on federal funding.

A subsequent memo from the White House to members of Congress on Tuesday sought to clarify the funding “pause,” which White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters is meant to “ensure that all of the money going out from Washington, D.C., is in line with the president’s agenda.”

Democratic officials and legal analysts have argued that Trump’s order violates the constitutional authority of Congress and federal law that prohibits the president from blocking funds appropriated by lawmakers.

A second lawsuit from New York Attorney General Letitia James and 22 other state attorneys general is also seeking a court order to immediately halt the administration’s order, which they say imperils billions of dollars in aid to their states.

In a press briefing in Washington, D.C., Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer called Trump’s funding freeze “a heist done on a national scale.” He called the order “lawless, dangerous, destructive, cruel.”