Judge Temporarily Halts Trump’s Federal Aid Freeze

Minutes before the plan was to take effect, a federal judge temporarily blocked Trump’s plans to freeze federal assistance.

U.S. district judge Loren AliKhan granted a “brief administration stay” to preserve federal disbursements until at least Monday after a group of nonprofit and public health organizations filed a suit.

Loren AliKhan, a former president Biden appointee who was assigned randomly to the case, gave the order after a video conference that had been hurriedly scheduled and began only an hour before the freezing.

Matthew Vaeth’s memo, the acting director of OMB (Office of Management and Budget), announced Trump’s decision on Monday. The memo directs federal agencies temporarily to pause “all activity related to the obligation or disbursement” of Federal financial assistance while the government conducts an audit to ensure that spending is aligned with Trump’s priorities.

The Administration defended the plan on Tuesday and stressed its limitations. They said that the plan does not apply to everyone and will not affect Social Security or other direct payments made to individuals.

In court documents, the Justice Department highlighted these limitations as a reason for denying the nonprofits’ requests for an immediate injunction. The government said that the groups had not identified any grant payments they would miss out on if Trump’s plans take effect.

The Justice Department stated, “Defendants respectfully submitted that these proceedings unfold in a reasonable time frame, allowing due consideration to Plaintiffs’ claims as well as their request for extensive relief.”

The lawsuit was brought by the National Council of Nonprofits, SAGE (a pro-LGBTQ organization for older adults), the American Public Health Association, and the Main Street Alliance small business group. The lawsuit was filed by the National Council of Nonprofits, SAGE, an older adult pro-LGBTQ advocacy group; American Public Health Association, and Main Street Alliance.

The organizations stated that Trump’s plan was not legal and that it would “threaten to disarray” a large number of people and groups without immediate court intervention.

The motion states, “This memo, made public by journalists only, without any legal basis, or even the barest of rationales, will have a devastating effect on thousands of grant recipients and subgrantees who depend on grant money to fund their ongoing work, fulfill their missions, to pay their employees and to pay rent, as well as to improve the lives of many of the people they strive to serve.”

Separately, from the nonprofits’ lawsuit, a group of Democratic state Attorneys General led by New York announced their plans to sue over the freeze on Tuesday.