Judge temporarily blocks Trump’s plan to freeze federal aid
A federal judge temporarily blocked President Trump’s plan to freeze federal aid minutes before it was set to go into effect late Tuesday afternoon.
U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan said she was granting a “brief administrative stay” that preserves federal disbursements at least until Monday at 5 p.m. EST after a group of nonprofit and public health organizations filed a lawsuit.
The judge will hold another hearing Monday on whether to grant a longer pause.
AliKhan, an appointee of former President Biden who was randomly assigned to the case, issued the order at the conclusion of a hastily scheduled video conference Tuesday that began just an hour before the freeze.
Trump’s move was announced in a Monday night memo issued by Matthew Vaeth, acting director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). It directs federal agencies to temporarily pause “all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance” while the government conducts a review to ensure spending aligns with Trump’s agenda.
The administration defended the plan Tuesday and stressed its limitations, insisting the plan doesn't apply across the board and won’t affect Social Security and other direct payments to individuals.
In court filings, the Justice Department emphasized those limitations as reason to deny the nonprofits’ request for an immediate injunction. The groups hadn’t identified any imminent grant disbursements they would miss if Trump’s plan takes effect, the government added.
Daniel Schwei, a Justice Department lawyer representing Trump’s administration, opposed any temporary pause but said, if one were inevitable, that it should be “as short as possible” to ensure Trump’s priorities aren’t delayed. He warned that the stay will likely cause “many complicated decisions” about what is or isn’t subject to the judge’s order.
The lawsuit was filed by the National Council of Nonprofits; SAGE, a pro-LGBTQ advocacy organization for older adults; the American Public Health Association; and small-business group Main Street Alliance. They are represented by Democracy Forward, a left-leaning legal organization that has frequently battled Trump in the courts.
In their request to the judge, the organizations claimed Trump’s plan had no legal authority and that countless people and groups would be “thrown into disarray” without the court’s immediate intervention.
“It’s not speculative to think they’re going to lose grant money whenever the spigot turns off,” Democracy Forward lawyer Jessica Morton said.
In court filings, the nonprofits noted that the memo was made public only through journalists’ reporting and would have a “devastating” impact on thousands of grant and subgrant recipients.
AliKahn ruled that the stay does not pertain to SAGE, one of the nonprofits, because its funding was terminated prior to the OMB memo, she said.
Separately from the nonprofits’ lawsuit, a number of Democratic state attorneys general, led by New York's Letitia James, announced plans to sue over the freeze later Tuesday.
Updated at 5:35 p.m. EST