An appeals court has upheld lower court decisions blocking the Trump administration’s sweeping effort in its first months in office to withhold federal loans and grants to states.
The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a Monday decision mostly upheld a March 2025 preliminary injunction against the administration and fully affirmed two April 2025 orders enforcing a preliminary injunction against FEMA.
The court found there was “no merit to the government’s arguments” that the states that sued will not be able to show the government’s actions were “arbitrary and capricious.”
The order stems from a decision by Chief Judge John McConnell of the Rhode Island District Court who found in April that the administration’s attempt to freeze funds that had been appropriated by Congress usurps the balance of power.
