By Michael Kunzelman
Associated Press
WASHINGTON 鈥� A federal judge to continue blocking President Donald Trump鈥檚 administration from freezing grants and loans potentially totaling trillions of dollars.
U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan in Washington, D.C., issued a preliminary injunction requested by groups representing thousands of nonprofits and small businesses. It鈥檚 the first such order since the Trump administration announced a sweeping pause on federal aid, stirring up a wave of across the U.S.
The judge said the administration 鈥渃annot pretend that the nationwide chaos and paralysis from two weeks ago is some distant memory with no bearing on this case.鈥�
鈥淭he relief Plaintiffs now seek is a more durable version of the relief they sought then, when their members were on the brink of extinction,鈥� AliKhan wrote. 鈥淚n sum, Plaintiffs have marshalled significant evidence indicating that the funding freeze would be economically catastrophic 鈥� and in some circumstances, fatal 鈥� to their members.鈥�
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The administration outlining its planned funding freeze after AliKhan temporarily blocked it earlier this month. A in Rhode Island also issued a temporary restraining order blocking any pause in federal spending pause in a separate lawsuit filed by nearly two dozen states.
Last month, the White House said it would federal funding to ensure that the payments complied with Trump鈥檚 agenda. Government lawyers argued that the court lacks the constitutional authority to block a funding pause.
Organizations represented by the advocacy group Democracy Forward argued that the funding freeze violates their First Amendment rights.
Some groups initially said they couldn鈥檛 access promised federal funding even after the memo was rescinded. During a hearing last Thursday, however, plaintiffs鈥� attorney Kevin Friedl said the earlier temporary restraining order has 鈥渟hown its value.鈥�
鈥淔unds have been unfrozen.鈥� he told the judge.
Justice Department attorney Daniel Schwei argued against the preliminary injunction. He said it is an 鈥渋nherently speculative proposition鈥� that the administration might try again to freeze funding.
