A U.S. district judge issued a blistering opinion Monday, extending a temporary block on President Donald Trump’s freeze on federal funding for aid programs.
Judge Loren AliKhan ruled that the National Council of Nonprofits and other plaintiffs had demonstrated they would suffer “irreparable harm” if the funding freeze were implemented.
Trump’s order, issued through the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) last week, halted trillions of dollars in federal loans, grants, and other assistance, sparking widespread confusion.
In response to public outcry, OMB initially announced the freeze had been “rescinded.” However, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later clarified that only the memo from the budget office had been withdrawn, while the freeze itself remained intact—a move the judge called “disingenuous.”
AliKhan had previously halted the spending freeze until a court hearing in Washington on Monday. Shortly after the proceedings, she issued a ruling extending the pause.
“The declarations and evidence presented by Plaintiffs paint a stark picture of nationwide panic in the wake of the funding freeze,” she wrote in a 30-page opinion.
“Organizations of every kind—healthcare providers, scientific researchers, emergency shelters, and more—were locked out of funding portals or denied critical resources beginning on January 28.”
AliKhan, an appointee of Democratic President Joe Biden, noted that the freeze affected up to $3 trillion in financial assistance, calling it “a breathtakingly large sum of money to suspend practically overnight.”
She criticized OMB for failing to provide a “rational explanation” for freezing all federal aid with less than 24 hours’ notice.
“If Defendants wish to conduct a comprehensive review of federal spending, they can do so without cutting off millions of Americans from essential resources,” she wrote.
“Rather than taking a measured approach to assess allegedly wasteful spending, Defendants effectively shut down a vast, complex national system—seemingly without considering the consequences.”
AliKhan also ruled that the White House had exceeded its authority, emphasizing that “the appropriation of government resources is a power reserved for Congress, not the Executive Branch.”
Many organizations, she noted, are still waiting for their funding to be restored.
