Loren L. AliKhan, Biden’s nominee to be United States District Judge for the District of Columbia
A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Trump Administration from reinstating its federal spending freeze.
US District Judge Loren AliKhan, a Biden appointee, sided with the plaintiffs suing Trump and continued to block Trump’s OMB from freezing federal funds.
Last month, Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) put a temporary pause of agency grants, loans and other financial assistance programs.
“The American people elected Donald J. Trump to be President of the United States and gave him a mandate to increase the impact of every federal taxpayer dollar. In Fiscal Year 2024,of the nearly $10 trillion that the Federal Government spent, more than $3 trillion was Federal financial assistance, such as grants and loans,” the OMB said.
“This memorandum requires Federal agencies to identify and review all Federal financial assistance programs and supporting activities consistent with the President’s policies and requirements,” the OMB memo said.
This temporary pause will provide the Administration time to review agency programs and determine the best uses of the funding for those programs consistent with the law and the President’s priorities. The temporary pause will become effective on January 28, 2025, at 5:00 PM. Even before completing their comprehensive analysis, Federal agencies must immediately identify any legally mandated actions or deadlines for assistance programs arising while the pause remains in effect. Federal agencies must report this information to OMB along with ananalysis of the requirement. OMB also directs Federal agencies to pause all activities associated with open NOFOs, such as conducting merit review panels,” the OMB added.
On Tuesday Judge AliKhan scolded the Trump Admin and said the OMB has not given a “reasonable explanation” for why it needs to freeze federal funds.
“The scope of power OMB seeks to claim is ‘breathtaking,’ and its ramifications are massive,” Judge AliKhan wrote according to CBS News. “Because there is no clear statutory hook for this broad assertion of power, plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of this claim.”
“Defendants still cannot provide a reasonable explanation for why they needed to freeze all federal financial assistance in less than a day to ‘safeguard valuable taxpayer resources,’” AliKhan added.
CBS News reported:
A federal judge on Tuesday continued to block the Office of Management and Budget from freezing federal assistance, delivering another blow to the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to shrink federal spending.
Judge Loren AliKhan from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of a group of nonprofit organizations in finding that they are likely to succeed in their challenge to the pause on all federal grants, loans and other federal assistance programs. The judge found that the nonprofits proved that the “funding freeze would be economically catastrophic — and in some circumstances, fatal — to their members” and agreed to grant their request for a preliminary injunction while the case plays out.
AliKhan had previously issued a temporary restraining order that prevented the Trump administration from freezing federal assistance while she considered the nonprofits’ request for injunctive relief. The judge held a hearing on their motion last week.
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