A DC federal judge ordered the Trump administration Tuesday to keep distributing trillions in federal assistance, just as a days-long freeze was due to take effect at close of business.
US District Judge Loren AliKhan issued the temporary restraining order in response to an appeal by a coalition of nonprofit groups almost exactly 24 hours after acting Office of Management and Budget Director Matthew Vaeth ordered agencies to “temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance.”
The Vaeth memo further admonished agency heads to “identify and review all Federal financial assistance programs and supporting activities consistent with the President’s policies and requirements.”
Lawyers for Democracy Forward represented the National Council of Nonprofits, the American Public Health Association, Main Street Alliance and the LGBTQ nonprofit SAGE in filing the suit to block the funding freeze.
“This Memo … will have a devastating impact on hundreds of thousands of grant recipients who depend on the inflow of grant money (money already obligated and already awarded) to fulfill their missions, pay their employees, pay their rent — and, indeed, improve the day-to-day lives of the many people they work so hard to serve,” the attorneys wrote in their complaint.
All open grants will continue to flow after the judge’s decision, which will remain in effect through 5 p.m. ET Feb. 3.
A hearing is scheduled for that Monday to hear arguments on the lawfulness of OMB’s move.
The Justice Department noted in court filings that the nonprofits had not demonstrated the funding pause’s effect yet on agencies.
“I am very sympathetic to your argument that [the plaintiffs have] not identified a particular grantee that is going to be missing a paycheck from the federal government tomorrow, but I think that’s in part from the government’s own making,” AliKhan — an appointee of former President Joe Biden who was confirmed in a tie-breaking vote cast by former Vice President Kamala Harris — told a Trump administration lawyer during Tuesday’s Zoom hearing, NBC News reported.
The OMB order outraged Democrats, who accused the White House of unlawfully refusing to spend money allocated by Congress and pointed to Medicaid and other online federal benefit portals being briefly shut down.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt pushed back in her first official briefing Tuesday that the move was “not a blanket pause on federal assistance” like Social Security, Medicare or food stamps. --->READ MORE HEREJudge temporarily blocks Trump’s plan to freeze federal aid:
A federal judge temporarily blocked President Trump’s plan to freeze federal aid minutes before it was set to go into effect late Tuesday afternoon.
U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan said she was granting a “brief administrative stay” that preserves federal disbursements at least until Monday at 5 p.m. EST after a group of nonprofit and public health organizations filed a lawsuit.
The judge will hold another hearing Monday on whether to grant a longer pause.
AliKhan, an appointee of former President Biden who was randomly assigned to the case, issued the order at the conclusion of a hastily scheduled video conference Tuesday that began just an hour before the freeze.
Trump’s move was announced in a Monday night memo issued by Matthew Vaeth, acting director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). It directs federal agencies to temporarily pause “all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance” while the government conducts a review to ensure spending aligns with Trump’s agenda.
The administration defended the plan Tuesday and stressed its limitations, insisting the plan doesn’t apply across the board and won’t affect Social Security and other direct payments to individuals.
In court filings, the Justice Department emphasized those limitations as reason to deny the nonprofits’ request for an immediate injunction. The groups hadn’t identified any imminent grant disbursements they would miss if Trump’s plan takes effect, the government added.
Daniel Schwei, a Justice Department lawyer representing Trump’s administration, opposed any temporary pause but said, if one were inevitable, that it should be “as short as possible” to ensure Trump’s priorities aren’t delayed. He warned that the stay will likely cause “many complicated decisions” about what is or isn’t subject to the judge’s order. --->READ MORE HERE
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