Federal judge indefinitely blocks Trump's attempt to freeze billions of dollars in federal aid

A federal judge on Tuesday indefinitely blocked the Trump administration's plan to halt billions of dollars in federal spending, ruling that the plaintiffs had “more than met their burden” of proving their case.

Two judges last month blocked the administration from freezing federal funds that were expected to be paused by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The OMB released a memo last month detailing the plan to freeze funds, but it was later rescinded.

U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan on Tuesday issued a longer injunction on the funds, preventing the government from “implementing, giving effect to, or reinstating under a different name," its plan to pause the aid while it reviewed government spending, according to The Hill.

“In the simplest terms, the freeze was ill-conceived from the beginning,” AliKhan wrote. “Defendants either wanted to pause up to $3 trillion in federal spending practically overnight, or they expected each federal agency to review every single one of its grants, loans, and funds for compliance in less than twenty-four hours. The breadth of that command is almost unfathomable.” 

The plaintiffs in the case, a coalition of nonprofits that include the American Public Health Association and small-business group Main Street Alliance, argued that even though the memo has been rescinded, the Trump administration is still interested in using similar policy as part of its broader efforts to reshape the federal government.

“It’s an administrative priority to end wokeness and they’re backing that with this cudgel of withholding billions — perhaps trillions — in funding,” Kevin Friedl, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said last week.   

AliKhan sided with the plaintiffs, stating that they had “more than met their burden” in asking for more permanent relief.

“Many organizations had to resort to desperate measures just to stay operational,” AliKhan wrote. “The pause placed critical programs for children, the elderly, and everyone in between in serious jeopardy. Because the public’s interest in not having trillions of dollars arbitrarily frozen cannot be overstated, Plaintiffs have more than met their burden here.” 

The Justice Department has argued that the case is "moot" because the memo was rescinded.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.