Federal judge continues blocking Trump administration from freezing grants and loans

Ben Curtis/AP

By Michael Kunzelman
Associated Press

WASHINGTON — A federal judge agreed Tuesday to continue blocking President Donald Trump’s administration from freezing grants and loans potentially totaling trillions of dollars.

U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan in Washington, D.C., issued a preliminary injunction requested by groups representing thousands of nonprofits and small businesses. It’s the first such order since the Trump administration announced a sweeping pause on federal aid, stirring up a wave of confusion and anxiety across the U.S.

The judge said the administration “cannot pretend that the nationwide chaos and paralysis from two weeks ago is some distant memory with no bearing on this case.”

“The relief Plaintiffs now seek is a more durable version of the relief they sought then, when their members were on the brink of extinction,” AliKhan wrote. “In sum, Plaintiffs have marshalled significant evidence indicating that the funding freeze would be economically catastrophic — and in some circumstances, fatal — to their members.”


The administration rescinded a memo outlining its planned funding freeze after AliKhan temporarily blocked it earlier this month. A second judge in Rhode Island also issued a temporary restraining order blocking any pause in federal spending pause in a separate lawsuit filed by nearly two dozen states.

Last month, the White House said it would temporarily halt federal funding to ensure that the payments complied with Trump’s agenda. Government lawyers argued that the court lacks the constitutional authority to block a funding pause.

Organizations represented by the advocacy group Democracy Forward argued that the funding freeze violates their First Amendment rights.

Some groups initially said they couldn’t access promised federal funding even after the memo was rescinded. During a hearing last Thursday, however, plaintiffs’ attorney Kevin Friedl said the earlier temporary restraining order has “shown its value.”

“Funds have been unfrozen.” he told the judge.

Justice Department attorney Daniel Schwei argued against the preliminary injunction. He said it is an “inherently speculative proposition” that the administration might try again to freeze funding.