US Judge Temporarily Blocks Part of Trump Administration’s Directive to Pause Federal Funding

US Judge Temporarily Blocks Part of Trump Administration's Directive to Pause Federal Funding

Washington, D.C., The Gulf Observer: A federal judge has temporarily halted part of the Trump administration’s controversial directive to freeze federal loans, grants, and other financial assistance, delivering a victory to advocacy groups that had argued the policy would cause significant harm.

U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan, appointed by President Joe Biden, issued the temporary ruling on Tuesday in a Washington, D.C., federal court. The judge ordered that the Trump administration must not block “open awards” — funds already scheduled for disbursement — until at least February 3.

The ruling was designed to “maintain the status quo” and prevent disruptions to existing financial support, though it does not prevent the administration from freezing funding for new programs or restarting funding for programs that have already ended.

In her decision, AliKhan noted that the federal government currently lacks full clarity on which programs would be affected by the funding pause. She stated, “It seems like the federal government currently doesn’t actually know the full extent of the programmes that are going to be subject to the pause.”

The legal challenge was brought by several advocacy groups, including the National Council of Nonprofits, the American Public Health Association, Main Street Alliance, and SAGE, who filed a lawsuit against the directive issued by the acting head of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on Monday. The groups argued that the OMB lacked the authority to unilaterally suspend all federal financial assistance programs and that the directive unfairly targeted grant recipients based on their rights to free expression and association, protected under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.

The directive, which was set to take effect at 5 p.m. Tuesday, was intended to ensure that federal grants and loans align with President Donald Trump’s priorities, including executive orders aimed at ending diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.

AliKhan has scheduled another hearing for Monday, February 3, at 11 a.m. to determine the next steps in the case.