Attorney General Aaron M. Frey and 22 other attorneys general today won a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration to block its illegal policy that would freeze funding for essential federal agency grants, loans and other financial assistance programs. Judge John J. McConnell of the US District for the District of Rhode Island today granted the preliminary injunction after Attorney General Frey and the coalition sued the Trump administration to stop the funding freeze.
“The Trump administration’s unlawful funding freeze threatened critical resources that Mainers rely on every day,” said Attorney General Frey in the press release issued this afternoon. “This Order ensures that these dollars will continue to come to Maine while my colleagues and I fight in court to insist that the rule of law is followed.”
The Administration’s funding freeze policy, issued through an array of actions, including a January 27 memorandum from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), illegally withheld trillions of dollars in federal funds for states and other entities like nonprofit organizations and community health centers. The policy caused immedaite chaos and uncertainity for millions of Americans who rely on state programs that receive these funds.
Attorney General Frey and the coalition sued the Administration over the freeze on January 28. On January 31, the court granted the attorneys general request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) blocking the freeze’s implementation until further Order from the Court. On February 7, AG Frey and the coalition filed motions for enforcement and a preliminary injunction to stop the illegal freeze and preserve federal funding that families, communities and states rely on. On February 8, the court granted the motion for enforcement, ordering the administration to immediately comply with the TRO and stop freezing federal funds. On February 28, 2025, Attorney General Frey and the coalition filed a second motion for enforcement seeking to stop the Trump administration from freezing hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to the states from the Federal Emergeny Management Agency (FEMA).
TODAY, the US District Court for the District of Rhode Island granted AG Frey and the coalition’s request for a preliminary injunction, halting the implementation of the Administration’s policy.