Washington — A federal judge in Rhode Island barred the Trump administration from freezing federal assistance, extending the block he put in place weeks ago in a case brought by a group of 23 states and the District of Columbia while the case moves forward.
U.S. District Judge John McConnell issued a preliminary injunction Thursday that prohibits agencies from halting the flow of federal funds awarded to the states through grants, contracts or other financial assistance based on a memo from the Office of Management and Budget issued during President Trump’s first days in office.
“The executive’s categorical freeze of appropriated and obligated funds fundamentally undermines the distinct constitutional roles of each branch of our government,” McConnell, who was nominated by former President Barack Obama, wrote. “The interaction of the three co-equal branches of government is an intricate, delicate, and sophisticated balance — but it is crucial to our form of constitutional governance. Here, the executive put itself above Congress.”
The judge said that the OMB order freezing federal funds across the government was “without regard to Congress’s authority to control spending,” and found that the Trump administration failed to point to any statutory or constitutional authority to impose the government-wide pause.
“The court is not limiting the executive’s discretion or micromanaging the administration of federal funds,” McConnell wrote. “Rather, consistent with the Constitution, statutes, and caselaw, the court is simply holding that the executive’s discretion to impose its own policy preferences on appropriated funds can be exercised only if it is authorized by the congressionally approved appropriations statutes.”
He said that the freeze has impacted an array of programs, including Head Start and other childcare initiatives, as well as law enforcement and public safety agencies that rely on the federal dollars.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is part of the coalition of states challenging the freeze, cheered the decision and reiterated that the power of the purse rests with Congress.
“The Trump administration’s illegal funding freeze jeopardized law enforcement funding, essential health care and childcare services, and other critical programs that millions of Americans rely on,” James said in a statement.
McConnell had issued a temporary order at the end of January that ordered OMB to keep federal assistance flowing. His decision, as well as a February order finding that the Trump administration failed to comply with that directive, has made him a target of Mr. Trump’s supporters. He is one of several federal judges who have ruled against the Trump administration at the early stages of cases and faced threats of impeachment by congressional Republicans.
The case before McConnell was brought by the group of states and the District of Columbia in response to the OMB memo issued in late January that called for federal agencies to temporarily pause grants, loans and other federal assistance programs that were implicated by Mr. Trump’s executive orders.
The memo targeted roughly $3 trillion in federal assistance programs.
Shortly after it was issued, OMB walked back the memo amid widespread chaos and confusion over what funds were at risk, but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said only the memo was rescinded, and the freeze itself would remain in force.
The states brought their challenge to the OMB funding freeze in late January and argued that the directive violated federal law and the separation of powers.
In his decision, McConnell called OMB’s pause on federal assistance “indiscriminate and unpredictable,” and he said it is “disingenuous” to suggest that the challenged pauses stem from independent agency decisions, instead of the OMB directive.
“Overall, the OMB directive amounted to a command, not a suggestion, that agency defendants shall execute a categorical, indefinite funding freeze to align funding decisions with the president’s priorities,” the judge wrote.
He also noted that there is no evidence Mr. Trump followed the federal law that lays out the procedures for withholding or cutting money appropriated by Congress, the Impoundment Control Act. The law requires the president to send a special message to Congress detailing the request to rescind or withhold funds, which McConnell said Mr. Trump did not do.
McConnell wrote that the Trump administration “abruptly froze” billions of dollars in federal funding for an indefinite period of time.
“It is difficult to perceive any rationality in this decision — let alone thoughtful consideration of practical consequences — when these funding pauses endanger the states’ ability to provide vital services, including but not limited to public safety, health care, education, childcare, and transportation infrastructure,” he said.
Similar challenges are underway in federal district courts across the East Coast. A judge in Washington, D.C., has also barred the Trump administration from pausing the federal aid.
The OMB funding freeze is among an array of actions taken since Mr. Trump returned to office that is part of his plan to shrink the size of the federal government and spending. He created the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to spearhead the effort. Mr. Trump has said DOGE is led by Elon Musk, though the White House has claimed its acting administrator is Amy Gleason, who has worked for DOGE’s precursor entity.
