Judge Blocks Trump Administration's Freeze on Federal Assistance

A federal judge in Washington, D.C. has blocked the Trump administration's attempt to freeze federal assistance, delivering a blow to the administration's efforts to shrink federal spending.

Judge Loren AliKhan ruled in favor of a group of nonprofit organizations, finding that they are likely to succeed in their challenge to the pause on all federal grants, loans, and other assistance programs. The judge agreed with the nonprofits that the "funding freeze would be economically catastrophic" and granted their request for a preliminary injunction.

AliKhan noted that the nonprofits had shown a "mountain of evidence" that even the threat of a funding freeze was enough to disrupt countless organizations. She also criticized the government's lack of a clear explanation for why they needed to freeze all federal financial assistance in such a short timeframe.

This ruling is the latest setback for the Trump administration in its efforts to overhaul the federal government. The administration has faced numerous legal challenges to its policies aimed at shrinking the size of the government, including its executive order to pause foreign assistance funding and its firing of thousands of federal workers.

In a separate case involving the funding freeze, brought by a group of 22 states and the District of Columbia, a federal judge in Rhode Island found that the Trump administration had not complied with an earlier order requiring agencies to restore any paused or withheld federal funds. The judge in that case, U.S. District Judge John McConnell, demanded the Trump administration reinstate any frozen funds and said the pause on federal assistance is likely unconstitutional.