Appeals court keeps block on Trump’s sweeping funding freeze

The United States Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit upheld U.S. District Judge John McConnell’s ruling Wednesday, keeping a block on the Trump administration’s plans to freeze federal loans and grants through an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memo.

Chief Judge David Barron, an appointee of former President Obama, and Circuit Judges Lara Montecalvo and Julie Rikelman, both appointees of former President Biden, presided over the case brought on by Democratic attorneys general from 22 states, the District of Columbia and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D). 

“Even if we were to set aside the harms to the Plaintiff-States’ residents, the District Court still found a number of harms that the Plaintiff-States themselves would irreparably suffer. These harms included the obligation of new debt; the inability to pay existing debt; impediments to planning, hiring, and operations; and disruptions to research projects by state universities,” Barron wrote, according to court filings.

“And the Defendants do not contend that these harms are not ‘substantial’ or ‘irreparable,’ except by asserting that [the Plaintiff-States] will receive any funds that agencies are legally obligated to disburse.'”

The Trump administration rescinded the OMB memo days after it was issued “to end any confusion on federal policy created by the court ruling and the dishonest media coverage,” according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. 

However, the attorneys general had already filed the lawsuit against the measure, arguing a pause in funding would harshly impact the state’s ability to serve people locally.

The White House is now dubbing the appeals court ruling blocking the OMB memo as an effort to combat the president’s legislative agenda.

“The First Circuit’s decision to bless these lawfare tactics—and to block the President’s efforts to root out fraud, waste, and abuse—are an affront to the American people,” Harrison Fields, principal deputy press secretary told The Hill. 

“The Trump Administration will continue its efforts to challenge the district court’s decision, and looks forward to ultimate victory for the American people on this issue.”

Judge McConnell, also an appointee of former President Obama, previously said the Trump administration’s move was an attempt to put itself “above Congress.”

“The Executive’s categorical freeze of appropriated and obligated funds fundamentally undermines the distinct constitutional roles of each branch of our government,” McConnell wrote earlier this month.

U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan issued a similar ruling to indefinitely block Trump’s proposed federal funding freeze in late February. 

“In the simplest terms, the freeze was ill-conceived from the beginning,” AliKhan wrote. “Defendants either wanted to pause up to $3 trillion in federal spending practically overnight, or they expected each federal agency to review every single one of its grants, loans, and funds for compliance in less than twenty-four hours. The breadth of that command is almost unfathomable.” 

Updated at 3:43 pm EDT.