A federal judge on Thursday blocked the Trump administration from freezing grants to states while litigation continues, handing a victory to the 23 Democratic state attorneys general who sued to stop President Trump from cutting off funding to state agencies.
“Today’s decision is an important victory for the rule of law and for the many programs throughout our state that rely on federal funding to carry out their mission,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) said in a statement. “But the fight is not over, and we will continue to work to secure a permanent decision blocking this radical freeze.”
Rhode Island District Court Judge John McConnell Jr. ordered a preliminary injunction in the multi-state lawsuit and directed federal agencies to release money owed to plaintiff states.
He wrote that the Trump administration had overstepped its authority.
“Here, the Executive put itself above Congress,” McConnell wrote. He later added, “the Executive has not pointed to any constitutional or statutory authority that would allow them to impost this type of categorical freeze.”
Attorneys general from 22 states and Washington, D.C., sued the federal government five weeks ago, after the Office of Management and Budget told federal agencies to halt billions of dollars in grants to states, nonprofits, researchers and other entities until the grants could be found compliant with Trump’s executive orders.
OMB rescinded the directive days later after a national outcry.
But as the Democratic attorneys general documented in court filings, their states continued to struggle to draw down federal funds, particularly money for energy, environmental and transportation projects approved during the Biden administration.
State agencies couldn’t access money they had been promised despite a temporary restraining order from McConnell that told the Trump administration to pay up.
The attorneys general wrote in a new motion last week that the Federal Emergency Management Agency was withholding millions of dollars in grants from sixteen plaintiff states. A senior FEMA official last month had ordered agency officials to halt a variety of grants awarded in Fiscal Years 2023 and earlier, according to NBC News.
The Trump administration’s lawyers have argued that the president has the power to withhold the cash.
McConnell’s order directed the administration to release all grants and other financial obligations to states that have been paused due to the OMB memo or Trump’s executive orders.
He told FEMA leaders to file a status report updating the court on the agency’s compliance with the preliminary injunction by Friday.