Judge Blocks Trump’s Spending Freeze

A federal judge has halted President Donald Trump’s freeze on federal aid programs, ruling that the courts need more time to consider the potentially far-reaching ramifications of his order.

Minutes before the directive from Trump’s budget office was to take effect Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan blocked the Trump administration from implementing it for now.

AliKhan’s order will expire Feb. 3 at 5 p.m. The Trump administration cannot suspend disbursement of any congressionally appropriated funds until then. The judge described the move as a “brief administrative stay” intended to maintain the status quo while further litigation can play out.

“I think there is the specter of irreparable harm,” said AliKhan, an appointee of President Joe Biden.

The ruling is a win for nonprofit and public health groups who said even a brief implementation of Trump’s freeze could cause devastating outcomes for people who rely on federal funds for services, as well as the workers who provide them. The nonprofits also argued the order from the Office of Management and Budget intrudes on First Amendment rights by seeking to block funding for groups that engage in “DEI programs” or promote “Gender Ideology Extremism,” concepts targeted in Trump’s initial round of executive orders.

“They are going to lose funding in 10 minutes because they support transgender equality instead of supporting something that the administration finds more palatable,” said Jessica Morton, an attorney for the National Council of Nonprofits and other groups.

During a short hearing held by videoconference, Justice Department attorney Daniel Schwei had argued that the groups had failed to show that they needed an immediate halt to the order issued by Trump’s budget office and set to take effect at 5 p.m. Tuesday. He said additional guidance offered by the Trump administration should alleviate concerns about the OMB directive cutting off essential funding.

“They request sweeping relief … not tethered to any identified grant programs,” Schwei said. “It would be appropriate to allow these issues to be addressed on a more orderly timeframe … I think it would be preemptive for the court to order relief just based on the suspicion that there might be some harm at some point.”

Earlier Tuesday, a group of Democratic state attorneys general also announced plans to file a lawsuit challenging the funding pause.