President Donald Trump’s administration suffered another legal blow in its efforts to freeze federal funding for programmes that do not align with the Republican’s agenda on Thursday when a second judge blocked it from implementing a sweeping pause on spending on grants, loans and other financial support.
US District Judge John McConnell in Providence, Rhode Island, at the behest of Democratic attorneys general from 22 states and the District of Columbia, issued an injunction blocking the administration from reissuing or adopting the funding freeze first announced in a since-rescinded memo from the White House budget office.
McConnell’s decision built on an earlier temporary restraining order he issued on January 31, and came after another judge in Washington on February 25 issued a preliminary injunction that similarly blocked what she called an “ill-conceived,” abrupt pause on up to $3 trillion in federal funding.
McConnell, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, said the Trump administration had “put itself above Congress.”
“The Executive’s categorical freeze of appropriated and obligated funds fundamentally undermines the distinct constitutional roles of each branch of our government,” McConnell wrote.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But the administration is expected to appeal the decision, after having already unsuccessfully sought to put a prior order of McConnell’s on hold.
The state attorneys general sued after the White House’s Office of Management and Budget on January 27 issued a memo directing federal agencies to temporarily pause spending on federal financial assistance programmes.
That memo said the freeze was necessary while the administration reviewed grants and loans to ensure they are aligned with Trump’s executive orders, including ones ending diversity, equity and inclusion programmes and directing a pause on spending on projects seeking to combat climate change.
OMB withdrew that memo after it became the subject of two lawsuits, one before McConnell by the state attorneys general and the other before US District Judge Loren AliKhan in Washington by groups representing nonprofits and small businesses.
The plaintiffs argued the memo’s withdrawal did not mean the end of the policy itself.
They pointed to a social media post on X by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shortly after the memo was withdrawn saying: “This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze. It is simply a rescission of the OMB memo.”
