A federal judge temporarily halted the Trump administration’s confusing and sudden freeze on federal aid just minutes before it was set to take effect Tuesday afternoon at 5 p.m., pushing back the pause in spending until at least next Monday.
U.S. Judge Loren L. AliKhan made the decision from the bench during a brief court hearing over Zoom in Washington, D.C., following concerns expressed by attorneys representing a group of nonprofits that fear they could face sudden stoppages in their work.
The decision marks the second time in a week that President Donald Trump’s federal policy agenda has been met with a sudden legal whiplash. His Day One executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship was blocked by a Seattle federal judge who decided it was “blatantly unconstitutional” in the way it aimed to unravel the 14th Amendment through presidential power alone.