麻豆社国产

Skip to content

Second federal judge orders temporary pause to Trump administration efforts to freeze funding

BOSTON (AP) 鈥 A second federal judge on Friday ordered a temporary pause in Trump administration efforts to freeze federal funding in the latest twist over the spending of trillions of dollars in grants and loans.
de8fd4b5fad7fa9f4ab6d0f9d84378ead2c1f8c122e0136ebe583934b2250085
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

BOSTON (AP) 鈥 A second federal judge on Friday ordered a temporary pause in Trump administration in the latest twist over the spending of trillions of dollars in grants and loans.

Judge John McConnell sided with nearly two dozen states that requested an emergency order preventing most federal agencies from halting funding.

Another judge in Washington earlier this week minutes before it was set to go into effect, but her short-term order is only in place until Monday unless she decides to extend it.

McConnell ordered the federal government not to 鈥減ause, freeze, impede, block, cancel, or terminate鈥 funding promised to the states while the temporary restraining order is in place.

鈥淭he Court must act in these early stages of the litigation under the 鈥榳orst case scenario鈥 because the breadth and ambiguity of the Executive鈥檚 action makes it impossible to do otherwise,鈥 McConnell wrote.

The decision was praised by several of the states that were part of the lawsuit.

鈥淭oday鈥檚 court decision reaffirms that the President cannot unilaterally take away federal funding, especially resources that our kids, seniors and economy rely on. His reckless actions unleashed chaos and confusion yet demonstrated the enormous power of attorneys general to fight back,鈥 Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell said in a statement. 鈥淢y office will keep fighting to protect Massachusetts residents from these egregious and unlawful abuses of power.鈥

Rhode Island Attorney General Neronha said he appreciated the fact McConnell saw the 鈥渋rreparable harm that this directive would cause, and frankly has already caused, Americans across the country.鈥

鈥淢ake no mistake: this federal funding pause was implemented to inspire fear and chaos, and it was successful in that respect,鈥 Neronha said in a statement. "These tactics are intended to wear us down, but with each legal victory we reaffirm that these significant and unlawful disruptions won鈥檛 be tolerated, and will certainly be met with swift and immediate action now and in the future.鈥

The federal government had opposed the order, arguing there was no basis for what they described as 鈥渟weeping relief.鈥

The decision from McConnell, who is based in Rhode Island and was appointed by former President Barack Obama, comes despite the Office of Management and Budget rescinding a memo outlining a sweeping pause on federal loans and grants.

McConnell found that recession was 鈥渋n name-only鈥 and his order was still necessary.

The White House press secretary has said that a funding freeze is still planned in line with President Donald Trump鈥檚 blitz of executive orders.

The Republican president wants to increase fossil fuel production, remove protections for transgender people and end diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

The memo, which was issued earlier this week by the OMB, had frightened that rely on trillions of dollars from Washington.

Administration officials said the pause was necessary to review whether spending aligned with Trump鈥檚 executive orders on issues like climate change and diversity, equity and inclusion programs. But two days later, they sent out a two-sentence notice rescinding the original memo.

A day later, Trump administration officials said programs that provide direct assistance to Americans, including Medicare, Social Security, student loans and food stamps, would not be affected. But that did little to ease the confusion.

Administration officials insisted that despite the confusion, their actions still had the intended effect by underscoring to federal agencies their obligations to abide by Trump鈥檚 executive orders. That prompted states to request the temporary restraining order.

In their motion, lawyers for Trump鈥檚 Justice Department argued the federal court lacked jurisdiction and the plaintiffs couldn鈥檛 use an order that was aimed initially against the OMB memo to seek broader action against Trump's executive orders.

They also argued that Trump and the OMB 鈥減lainly have authority to direct agencies to fully implement the President鈥檚 agenda, consistent with each individual agency鈥檚 underlying statutory authorities.鈥

鈥淭he President鈥檚 authority to direct subordinate agencies to implement his agenda, subject to those agencies鈥 own statutory authorities, is well-established,鈥 Brett Shumate, the acting assistant attorney general, wrote.

The Trump administration did not have immediate comment on the order.

The ruling in favor of the states was not unexpected.

In a hearing Wednesday on the initial order from the states, McConnell had said he was sympathetic to the argument put forth from the states about the potential harm from any federal funding freeze.

___

Associated Press writer Lindsay Whitehurst in Washington contributed to this story.

Michael Casey, The Associated Press

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks