A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump from cutting billions of dollars in federal funds that support COVID-19 and public health initiatives throughout the United States.
U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy, in Rhode Island, said that she intends to grant the court orders sought by 23 States and the District of Columbia.
McElroy said that she would grant a temporary restraining order to give them a chance to prove their case. She will issue a written decision later.
Letitia James, New York’s Attorney General, tweeted immediately following the hearing about the decision of the judge. She said: “We will continue our lawsuit to ensure that states can provide medical services Americans require.”
Leslie Kane, Assistant U.S. attorney, objected in court to the temporary restraining orders, but said that she had limited arguments to make. She also stated that under the time limit, her office could not thoroughly review thousands of documents.
The lawsuit filed by the states on Tuesday sought to stop immediately the $11 billion cuts. The lawsuit said that the $11 billion in cuts, which were allocated by Congress to COVID initiatives and mental health and drug use programs, would destroy the U.S. health infrastructure.
U.S. Health and Human Services defended this decision by stating that the money spent was a waste since the pandemic has ended.
Minnesota Department of Health, for example, has already laid off nearly 200 workers. North Carolina officials say they could lose up to $230 million and California officials estimate their losses at over $1 billion.
The Trump administration has suffered a string of legal setbacks, including the temporary blockage on cutting health funding. It is currently facing 150 lawsuits, ranging from immigration issues to job and financial cuts in federal agencies, as well as transgender-related rights. Federal judges issued dozens of orders that have slowed down the ambitious conservative agenda of President Trump, at least temporarily.